Centre Gives ‘In-Principle’ Nod To Withdraw FIRs Against NEET Protesters, Compensation Also On Table

New Delhi: The Union government has signalled that it is ready to drop legal cases against students who took to the streets over the NEET paper leak, with senior Cabinet ministers telling protest leaders that there is "significant in-principle agreement" on withdrawing FIRs and giving a written guarantee against future cases. The government assured during a nearly 2-hour meeting between Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) representatives and Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Minister of State Jitendra Singh. During the meeting, Nadda stated that the delegation had raised 3 main demands and 5 suggestions for exam reforms, and that the government would meet them again the next afternoon to share the internal discussions.

The national capital has witnessed weeks of protests on the streets at Jantar Mantar over examination failures, and the pressure appeared to yield movement inside government corridors. The representatives of the CJP confirmed that the central government responded positively to 2 of their core demands relating to the NEET paper leak controversy. 

Jantar Mantar has been the centre of one of the largest student-led movements in recent years for weeks, stirred by allegations of NEET-UG paper leaks and CBSE marking errors. The latest development suggested that the Centre is now willing to address the legal fallout of the protests, even as it continues to face calls for the Education Minister’s resignation.

Key Demands Put Before The Government

CJP Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das stated that the group submitted 3 core demands in writing and verbally. He stated that the first was non-negotiable, which was “either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign or the government should dismiss him from the Cabinet”. The second was financial, which was “the second demand is compensation of Rs 1 crore for every family whose child died by suicide due to this broken and corrupt NEET education system”, and the third focused squarely on legal protection, which was "the third demand is that all our brothers and sisters who were peacefully protesting here but faced police brutality and had FIRs registered against them should have those FIRs withdrawn. No FIRs should be filed against anyone," he said. 

He added that the government should also provide “a sovereign guarantee in writing that no one will be targeted in the future”, referring to it as their 4th point within a 5-point policy charter.

CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka said that the response was encouraging, saying, “The government gave a very positive response to two of our three main demands.”

What The Ministers Said

After the meeting, JP Nadda confirmed the length and scope of the talks and said, "The meeting went on for almost two hours. They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had among the government."

Das also said that the government had been receptive on the latter two points, saying, "The government showed a positive response to our second and third demands: compensation, withdrawal of FIRs, and a written sovereign guarantee that such FIRs would not be filed in the future. The government said that, in principle, it accepts these two demands. Therefore, we have been called for another meeting tomorrow."

On the other hand, Ranka added that the group now wants that commitment on paper, saying, “There has been a very positive response from the government on both compensation and legal protection. It has agreed to these demands in principle, and we hope that we will soon receive a written agreement in this regard.”

Background To The Protests

The meeting occurred days after the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on July 20, when thousands moved from Jantar Mantar toward Parliament, further turning into a violent ruckus, with a group of youth clashing with the police and security forces, leaving multiple people injured. 

Notably, the anger over compromised exams has grown into sustained protests. The students alleged NEET-UG papers were leaked while CBSE candidates flagged errors in on-screen marking, turning the issue into one of broken trust.

The CJP, fronted by Abhijeet Dipke and Saurav Das, led the mobilisation at Jantar Mantar and was joined by AISA, AISF, SFI and others. Activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined, starting a 26-day hunger strike before pausing it after government assurances.

On the other hand, the government has meanwhile acted on the testing agency, sacking 47 NTA officials and announcing a full revamp. The Cabinet has also cleared a draft bill proposing harsher penalties and fast-track courts for paper leaks.