'Tomorrow Gen Alpha, Beta Will Come' : Petitioner Urges Supreme Court Not To Allow Withdrawal Of Cases Against Student Protesters

"Tomorrow Generation Alpha, Beta, Delta will come," a petitioner warned the Supreme Court on Wednesday while opposing any political decision to withdraw criminal cases against the Gen Z student protesters, arguing that doing so would set a dangerous precedent for future agitations. The plea seeks directions restraining the Union Government and States from withdrawing rioting cases arising out of the recent student protests solely on the basis of any political understanding.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana tagged the matter along with other cases concerning the student protests, in which the Court on August 3 clarified that the FIRs registered against the protesters can be withdrawn.

The petition filed by Maneesh Kumar Solanki sought fixing of accountability on the organisers of the protests. Advocate Rizwan Ahmed, appearing for the petitioner, submitted, "It [the protest] was about accountability of the Minister and the police; we accept that. 15 days have passed. What about the accountability of the organisers? They are going from channel to channel giving provocative statements and refusing to douse the fire."

"Where is the accountability of the so-called organisers? I am saying so-called organisers because it is not a registered organisation," he submitted, making a veiled reference to the 'Cockroach Janata Party', which called for the protests against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET 2026 paper leak. Ahmed submitted that organisers are held liable in law for any untoward incident which happens during the congregation.

Ahmed submitted that the Union has conceded to the protesters' demand to withdraw cases, and warned that it will set a dangerous precedent.

"Yesterday some law and order problem has taken place in Rajasthan. One young man has died. So the question is, if the government is bending over backwards in a matter of national capital, will the government set up a precedent for Rajasthan. There also, the government will bend over backwards to accommodate students," he said.

The Chief Justice said that aggression from the side of the mighty state might aggravate the situation, and surmised that the decision to withdraw cases might have been taken in that spirit.

"These are youngsters. They need a lot of advisory consulting. Any aggression coming from the other side in the name of the mighty state may also unnecessarily aggravate the situation and precipitate to leading to further violence. That needs to be avoided," the CJI said.

Ahmed clarified that he was not seeking coercive criminal punishment, and was proposing a community service penalty for minors who indulged in abusive slogans. At the same time, "stone-pelters cannot be allowed to go scot free just because the government was caught on the wrong foot," he asserted.

He contended that condoning such acts will encourage similar demonstrations to the Parliament by other groups.  "Farmers were at the Shambhu border. Tomorrow, Generation Alpha, Beta, Delta will come. The people at the Shambhu border tomorrow, they will come to the Parliament with the tractors? Tomorrow, people from Shaheen Bagh will come to the Parliament. If 500 people would have entered the Parliament. who knows they were not carrying a country-made gun or a country-made bomb? The Parliament security is not made to handle 500 people. It is a more sophisticated force, they would have opened fire. What would have happened?"

The Chief Justice said that the situation required to be handled carefully, and the youngsters need counselling and assurance that they are being listened to.

"The police need to exercise a great deal of restraint to ensure that the situation does not go out of hand if some incident takes place. We need to tread very carefully so that the youngsters don't indulge in violence. The better course is to counsel them and pacify them that the most powerful source is listening," the CJI said.

The bench ultimately tagged the matter along with the other batch.

The public interest litigation has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking directions to identify persons who allegedly used abusive, derogatory or defamatory language against police and security personnel during the protests and marches held in July 2026, and to require them to perform supervised community service.

The petition seeks a direction to the Union Government and other authorities to identify all such persons, whether juveniles or adults, on the basis of video recordings, photographs and other credible evidence, after following due process of law.

It further prays that those identified be directed to undertake appropriate supervised community service, including sanitation or cleanliness work at places of worship or other public places, without prejudice to any criminal proceedings that may be initiated against them in accordance with law.

Apart from seeking action against individuals allegedly involved in insulting police personnel, the petition raises concerns over the withdrawal of criminal cases arising from riots and protests on the basis of political settlements.

The petitioner has sought a declaration that neither the Union Government nor any State Government can grant a blanket pardon, amnesty or withdraw prosecutions in riot-related cases merely because of a political understanding or agreement. It contends that any such decision must be taken strictly in accordance with law and the statutory framework governing withdrawal of criminal prosecutions.

Pending adjudication of the plea, the petition seeks an interim direction restraining the Union Government as well as States and Union Territories from withdrawing prosecutions arising out of the June-July 2026 protests, or similar riot-related incidents, solely on the basis of political agreements or understandings.

Case : MANEESH KUMAR SOLANKI Vs UNION OF INDIA | W.P.(C) No. 958/2026

Petition filled through AoR Pulkit Agarwal