The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday withdrew its call for a September 5 march in Delhi after the Centre assured the Supreme Court that it would honour its commitments made to the organisation, including compensation for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.
CJP spokesperson and co-convener Saurav Das informed the Supreme Court that the outfit had decided to call off the proposed march in view of the Centre’s assurances and the judicial order expected to follow.
“As co-convener of the CJP, I want to state that in view of the positive assurances of the Government of India and the judicial sanctity bestowed upon them today, and in view of the order being passed by this Court, the CJP deems it appropriate to withdraw the call for the march on September 5 and looks forward to compliance with today's order,” Das told the court.
The decision comes days after the CJP had announced plans for a peaceful march from India Gate to Delhi Police Headquarters on September 5. The organisation had said the protest was prompted by what it described as the government’s failure to implement commitments made on July 25 following the agitation over issues concerning NEET aspirants.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, assured the Supreme Court that the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide would receive compensation within three months.
The assurance was significant for the CJP, which had made compensation for the bereaved families one of its key demands during its earlier agitation. The Centre’s commitment before the apex court now provides a judicial framework for implementation of the assurance.
The developments also marked a fresh effort to resolve the legal and political fallout from the protests that took place in July.
The Centre also requested the Supreme Court to exercise its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to bring an end to criminal proceedings arising from the NEET protests held between July 20 and July 25 across the country.
The plea followed the Delhi Police’s submission before the court on Monday that it no longer wished to pursue 13 FIRs registered in connection with the CJP-led protests in July.
The police invoked the court’s jurisdiction under Article 142, which empowers the Supreme Court to pass orders necessary to ensure complete justice in matters before it.
The move to seek closure of the cases is expected to address another major point of contention between the government and the protesting organisation. The CJP had previously demanded that FIRs lodged against protesters during the agitation be withdrawn.
The CJP’s decision to withdraw the September 5 march effectively removes the immediate prospect of another large-scale protest in the national capital over the NEET-related demands.
The organisation had announced the march on August 24, stating that it would be peaceful and would proceed from India Gate to the Delhi Police Headquarters. Its latest decision signals a shift from street mobilisation to monitoring the implementation of commitments made before the Supreme Court.
Das said the CJP would now await compliance with the court’s directions. The organisation’s withdrawal of the march is therefore linked directly to the Centre’s assurances and the legal sanctity attached to them through the Supreme Court proceedings.
The outcome of Tuesday’s hearing could consequently prove important in bringing closure to several issues that emerged during the July protests, particularly compensation for affected families and criminal cases registered against demonstrators.
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