The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday threatened to launch another round of nationwide protests, alleging that the Centre had failed to honour its promise to withdraw FIRs against student protesters despite the Supreme Court granting interim relief to those arrested during the agitation.
The warning came just hours after the Supreme Court directed states to release all detained students below the age of 18 and those without criminal records who had been arrested during the nationwide paper leak protests. The court also ordered that no coercive action be taken in FIRs related to the CJP-led protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and other locations across the country.
In a statement, the CJP raised concerns over a portion of the Supreme Court's interim order that permits governments to continue with existing FIRs and investigations. It said the ruling should "ring alarm bells across the country."
According to the organisation, the court's direction contradicts the assurance it claimed the Centre gave on July 25—that FIRs against peaceful protesters would be withdrawn and no student would face direct or indirect punitive action.
The CJP said it had ended its nationwide protest only after receiving those assurances and now feared that the Centre and BJP-ruled states could use the court's order to continue criminal proceedings against individual protesters.
The outfit also questioned why the government's legal representatives did not inform the Supreme Court about the understanding reached with the CJP, despite discussions continuing until late Monday.
Describing the interim order as "wholly unacceptable," the CJP argued that the Centre was fully aware of the commitments it had made to protesting students but failed to present them before the court.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke warned that the organisation would return to the streets if students continued to face police action. In a post on X, he said that if the alleged harassment of students by police persisted, the CJP would organise another large-scale peaceful protest and urged the government to stop what he described as the targeting and witch-hunting of students.
At the same time, the CJP maintained that the Supreme Court had not instructed governments to continue pursuing the FIRs. It argued that the executive retained the authority to withdraw cases or choose not to proceed against peaceful protesters, citing Bihar and Assam as examples where similar action had been taken.
The organisation urged the Centre as well as BJP- and NDA-ruled state governments to place the July 25 assurances before the Supreme Court so the court could consider those commitments during further hearings.
The CJP said the deadline for the Centre to fulfil its assurances expired on Tuesday and demanded the immediate withdrawal of FIRs, protection for protesters from future punitive measures, and implementation of what it called both the "letter and spirit" of the agreement that ended the agitation.
Warning that another phase of protests could soon begin, the organisation said it would have "no option" but to restart its nationwide movement if the government failed to honour its commitments. It added that India's youth had accepted the agreement in good faith and warned that if those promises were broken, young people would once again take to the streets.
The CJP launched its protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 6, demanding the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The movement gained momentum after activist Sonam Wangchuk began a 26-day hunger strike in support of the demand.
On July 20, clashes broke out between protesters and security personnel after demonstrators attempted to march towards Parliament. Police used lathis and tear gas to disperse the crowd, and the protests subsequently spread to several states, including Bihar.
The agitation concluded on July 25 following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and the government's acceptance of key demands, including compensation for the families of those who had died by suicide and an assurance that no FIRs would be filed against protesters.
