Maharashtra Government Withdraws Cases Against Students Protesting NEET Paper Leak

The Maharashtra government has approved the withdrawal of cases against students and protesters involved in the protests against the NEET paper leak. The government issued a Government Resolution (GR) in this regard on Wednesday. According to the GR, the earlier deadline of 31 July 2026 for withdrawal of such cases has been extended to 31 March 2027. This includes cases related to political protests in which charge sheets are to be filed by this period. Thousands of students had protested in many parts of Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, against the NEET paper leak. The protesters were demanding the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. During these seven consecutive days of protests from 18 July onwards, the Mumbai Police had registered several FIRs on charges of unlawful assembly and violation of prohibitory orders. The action taken in these cases was under Section 189 (2) of the BNS and Sections 37 (1), 37 (3) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act. According to the GR, the police cannot proceed with the process of filing charge sheets in the court after the completion of the investigation.