Kolkata: With the Supreme Court restraining states from taking coercive action against NEET protesters, a city court on Tuesday reversed within three hours its jail custody order for all 16 persons arrested for the ruckus at Esplanade during last Friday’s protest march in Kolkata and granted them bail. The contrasting orders by the same court came in two separate hearings, one before the apex court ruling and the other shortly after.During the afternoon hearing, the court verbally remanded all the accused in two-day judicial custody after the public prosecutor opposed their bail pleas. The defence counsel highlighted the agreement between the Centre and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that all cases against participants of the NEET protest will be withdrawn nationwide and even produced notifications issued by the Bihar and Assam govts withdrawing similar cases. The court, however, noted that no such directive had been issued by the Bengal govt. On being told that the Supreme Court was also hearing the issue on Tuesday, the court informed the defence that they could raise the matter again on Wednesday.Once the official Supreme Court order reached Kolkata Police headquarters, the state filed a fresh application in Bankshall Court, attaching the apex court’s directive, prompting the judge to advance the next hearing to Tuesday evening instead of waiting till Wednesday. This time, the prosecution said it had no objection to releasing 10 of the accused who lacked previous criminal records but argued that the remaining six individuals, who had pending charge sheets and documented criminal antecedents, should be denied bail. When, in response to a query by the defence, the investigating officer admitted that none of the six had been convicted, the court overturned its earlier judicial custody order and granted all 16 bail on a personal bond of Rs 500 each.Later in the evening, the Bengal govt issued a statement that said, “No coercive measures shall be taken against the students participating in the protests relating to the alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) Examination” but added, “The protection shall not extend to persons having criminal antecedents, as mandated in the SC order.”Sources at Lalbazar said they will now comply with the SC directive “to the hilt”. “There are three primary directives in the SC ruling. The first involves releasing all minors, which does not apply to our arrests. The second prohibits fresh coercive action, meaning no further arrests will be made. The third permits coercive action against habitual offenders. Among those arrested, there are six such individuals whom we would have preferred to keep in custody,” a senior police officer said.Lalbazar sources confirmed that no coercive steps will be taken in other related matters, including multiple FIRs filed by journalists alleging assault and harassment. Cases involving activists, such as actor Sreelekha Mitra, will similarly see no coercive action. “If any journalist feels aggrieved, they remain free to approach the court,” the officer added.Senior officers said they are awaiting directives from the govt regarding timelines for future investigation. “For now, all FIRs remain active, and we are not moving the court to quash any of them, even though no coercive action will be taken. Investigation in all cases is ongoing, as we still need to determine whether other repeat offenders were involved,” an officer said.Sources indicated that no secondary case, such as those involving the online sharing of objectionable photos, videos or posters related to the CJP protest, is currently pending within Kolkata Police jurisdiction. “However, Barasat cops have made one such arrest, and a decision regarding that case will be taken by the West Bengal police shortly,” another source confirmed.
