SC Questions Notice to Noida Student Over Jantar Mantar Protest
Supreme Court questions Greater Noida magistrate's notice to a student over Jantar Mantar protest, citing its earlier order barring penal action.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would seek an explanation from the Greater Noida executive magistrate for issuing a notice to a student over his participation in a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The development came as a lawyer mentioned the matter before a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.
The CJI questioned how the magistrate could issue such a notice when the top court had earlier directed that no penal action would be taken against students. "You are absolutely right. There is no question of taking action against our youth. We have passed a clear order," the CJI observed.
The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, referred to its September 1 order. In that order, the court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to end criminal proceedings arising from the protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in July. The court had directed that FIRs registered between July 20 and 25 across states and Union territories in connection with the protests would not be pursued or investigated and would be treated as closed.
The court had also barred the registration of fresh FIRs related to the same incidents and clarified that mere participation in the protests could not be treated as an offence under penal laws. That order followed applications by the Centre, Delhi Police, and the governments of Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal seeking the quashing of criminal cases.
In the present matter, the lawyer argued that an "experiment" was being done on students and that the notice, which was later revoked, was contrary to the court's order. The CJI responded, "We are surprised how can the magistrate issue a notice when we have already annulled... No penal action against any student. It was a clear-cut order."
The CJI asked the lawyer to place the facts on record and said, "We will ask for explanation. Let him explain."
The case involves Akshat Tripathi, a student of Gautam Buddha University (GBU), who was served a notice by the Greater Noida Executive Magistrate on September 4 under Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The notice sought a personal bond of ₹5 lakh for maintaining peace. Tripathi denied the allegations, claiming he participated in the protest peacefully and was not attending university classes at the time. Officials said the order was later revoked.