Supreme Court today directed the release of student protesters who are under 18 and have no criminal records. The Court also asked authorities to preserve electronic and digital evidence relating to the recent nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak.

The Court also observed that there was a need for a fair and independent investigation into the allegations of injuries to the students and police officials during the student protests last week.

Hearing a batch of petitions alleging excessive use of police force during the demonstrations, the apex court issued a slew of interim directions.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, directed all states where protests were held to preserve CCTV footage, drone recordings, body-camera footage, wireless communication records, PCR logs and other digital evidence pertaining to the protests.

It also ordered that any digital data collected on protesters be preserved but not brought into the public domain.
The bench restrained authorities from taking any coercive action against protesting students, saying that the protection would not extend to persons with criminal antecedents.

The bench permitted the Delhi government to continue investigations into FIRs registered but said no coercive action be taken against eligible protesting students during the pendency of the proceedings.
The bench also sought responses from the chief secretaries of Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to the allegations raised in the petitions.

The Court said, the allegations prima facie warrant consideration of a fair and independent probe, which must also address the concerns of families of over 200 injured police personnel.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said students will not indulge in violence against police personnel, but some miscreants are involved in the incidents.