Proper Treatment of Youth

September 4, 2026

Recently, the youth, enraged by paper leaks and exam irregularities, staged a massive protest at Jantar Mantar. The protest was held under the banner of the Cockroach Janata Party, but the number of young people gathered from various locations clearly demonstrated their anger. On July 20th, the youth marched toward Parliament. The government was accused of using excessive force to control the youth. Pellet guns were used, which was unjustified. The protest led to the resignation of the Education Minister, but the students’ discontent was fueled by the fact that FIRs were being filed against them out of revenge, making them criminals. The Supreme Court took cognizance of this. The court stated that freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Indian democracy, and expressing dissent or raising questions is not a crime. Meanwhile, Yuva Shakti was determined to hold another march on September 5th. They claimed that the FIRs against the students had not been dropped as agreed. Now, the Supreme Court has ordered that all FIRs filed against the CJP protesters be quashed. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has ordered the creation of a nationwide policy within three months to provide compensation to the families of students who committed suicide due to the NEET 2026 paper leak. This policy will be sent to all states, and a regular compensation mechanism will be established. This means that the families of the students will receive compensation after three months. However, the Supreme Court has also clarified that if some criminals with serious criminal records were also involved in the protests, new cases will be filed against them. There are reported to be 2,873 such individuals. However, these cases will only be filed if these individuals have caused physical harm or property damage. The Supreme Court stated that it was issuing this directive in exercise of its extraordinary powers, and that it would not be used as a precedent for subsequent decisions. This order has satisfied the agitated student community and the leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party. They have called off their proposed protest march, calling their movement a success. Thus, we can say that an attempt has been made to control the politicization of youth anger. The Supreme Court has also made it clear that expressing anger and protesting is not a crime. Questions can be raised about what is wrong. An FIR is not the punishment for raising questions. When we look at this entire incident from a broader perspective, we find that the students’ immediate anger has been resolved, but how will their fundamental problems be resolved? Paper leaks and paper cheating are two scourges that have plagued India’s examination system. This chaos isn’t limited to Delhi or a single state, but it’s evident wherever exams are held in various states. It’s an unfortunate situation for students that after working hard, spending money, and spending years, they sit for exams and their results are out, only to have paper leak scandals come to light. This has been happening for years. Therefore, we need a permanent solution, not a temporary one, because students’ hard work and their lives cannot be compromised