‘How did magistrate dare?’ Supreme Court on notice to student at CJP protest

On September 9, 2026, the Supreme Court questioned an Executive Magistrate's show cause notice issued to a Gautam Buddha University (GBU) student in connection with NEET-UG protests at Jantar Mantar. The notice, which asked the student, Akshat Tripathi, to explain why he should not provide a personal bond of ₹5 lakh, was allegedly in violation of a Supreme Court order prohibiting coercive action against students.

Chief Justice Surya Kant stated that the Magistrate had already withdrawn the notice, but senior advocate Biswajit Bhattacharya argued that the action amounted to contempt of the Supreme Court and was a clear violation of the court's prohibition. Bhattacharya said the notice was in violation of the Supreme Court's order from September 1, which quashed FIRs registered against NEET-UG protestors, who were predominantly students.

The court had clarified that the order extended to all states and union territories where protests occurred between July 20 and July 25.