All the FIRs … are hereby quashed.” With that order by a three-judge bench, led by Chief justice of India Surya Kant, a welcome moment of closure was reached on Tuesday. The story began with the students’ protests at Jantar Mantar against the NEET paper leak. It saw a brutish crackdown by the police on the march by mostly young protesters demanding a hearing from the people’s representatives in Parliament. These columns have strongly and consistently argued for the freedom to protest peacefully, which is part of the constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech and expression, and against its criminalisation by the government. And yet, rewind to Tuesday’s quashing of FIRs by the Court, acting on the request of governments at the Centre and some........

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