Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Declaring that "absolute justice" has been served, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday announced the cancellation of its protest march scheduled for September 5 after the Supreme Court quashed all FIRs against students involved in agitation on the NEET paper leak, and directed the Centre to compensate families of candidates who died by suicide.

Talking to reporters here, CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke welcomed the apex court's directive, saying that the decision has finally delivered justice to all students and citizens who took to the streets and social media to raise their voices.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday quashed all criminal cases registered against students involved in protests between July 20 and 25 and directed the Centre to provide financial compensation within three months to families of NEET aspirants who took their own lives.

Following the ruling, the CJP called off its planned Teachers' Day demonstration in the national capital, which was being organised to demand the fulfilment of government promises made following the end of its 36-day agitation on July 25.

"We are calling off the march because all our demands have been fulfilled. There has been absolute justice...It took us a month, but in the true sense, this agitation has been successful," Dipke said.

Expressing gratitude to the apex court, Dipke dedicated the outcome to the public for their sustained support.

"This is the victory of every person who took to the streets during this protest, not just at Jantar Mantar, but all over the country. This is the victory of every person who raised their voice on social media or posted a story on WhatsApp. If all of you had not raised your voice, I don't think this would have been possible," he said.

He said that the decision followed extensive deliberations, including 7 to 8 marathon meetings over the last two days in Maharashtra with delegations from Delhi.

Offering an apology to the grieving families, Dipke held systemic government failure responsible for the loss of young lives.

"First of all, I would like to apologise to all of you. We could not save your children... It was not their fault. They had worked very hard and studied honestly to become doctors. It was the failure of the government that caused your children to lose their lives," he said, citing specific instances of affected families, including those of aspirants Pratik Meghwal, Akanksha Chaturvedi, Kahan Patel, and Riya Thapa.

Emphasising the necessity of financial relief, Dipke said that many affected families face severe economic hardship.

"Pratik's father is a labourer. Akanksha's father is sick and cannot earn. Compensation cannot bring their children back or fill their sorrow, but at least these families will not have to worry about their livelihood or how to educate their younger children," he added.

He urged the government to implement structural measures to prevent future instances of paper leaks and student stress. "The government will have to take responsibility that no student should commit suicide after this due to an examination or a system failure. We cannot afford this anymore," he asserted.

The CJP-led march on July 20 in Delhi saw clashes between protesters and security personnel, who used lathis and teargas shells to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament.

The protests, which spread to several cities, were centred around the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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The agitation, which began at Jantar Mantar on June 20, was called off on July 25 after Pradhan resigned and the government accepted the CJP's other demands.