New Delhi: The Supreme Court today said that no coercive action can be taken against student protesters without criminal antecedents who were involved in the recent youth movement against the education system’s failings, that led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, ordering the immediate release of all students held by police in various places.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, while hearing petitions against police brutality on participants in the protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and various other states, said that there was also a need for a fair and independent probe into the allegations of injuries. It also included claims that police had been injured in the ambit of this possible probe.“Whoever has committed excess, committed atrocities on innocent people, law will take care of them. For that, there needs to be a completely independent and fair investigation. Probe is meaningless if no responsibility is fixed,” CJI Surya Kant said.LiveLaw reported that the Supreme Court hinted that it might constitute a Special Investigation Team headed by a former Supreme Court judge for the investigation. It has, in the meantime, sought the responses of the Union government and the governments of the Delhi NCT, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala.The apex court directed the preservation of all CCTV footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, wireless communication and PCR logs.It asked state government to ensure that personal information and digital data of protesters are preserved, and are not brought in the public domain “for the time being.” Hindutva commentators and handles have been sharing images of protesters, many of them minors, and asking for information to trace them.The court initially said that detained or arrested minors must be released, but amended this when Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat pointed out that some of them are in the age group of 19 or 20 years.LiveLaw further reported on how the CJI said that the protest was initially meant to be peaceful protest and by students, while mulling an independent investigation. “Such a protest is protected by the Constitution, no doubt. Now two things can happen. People who want to stop the protests can indulge in violence after entering it. There can be uninvited guests to protests. Second, there are petitions on behalf of injured police….the question is why there should not be an independent investigation?”A day ago, the CJI orally observed that the right to peaceful protest is “absolutely guaranteed under the constitution”.While the nationwide youth-led movement was ongoing, CJI Kant had said on July 22 that he was not interested in watching videos of police brutality on protesters on July 20. The CJI’s position vis-a-vis these protests is unique as it was his own remark likening a section of unemployed youth to cockroaches that led to the formation of the outfit that gave the first call for the protests.The court will hear this case again on August 3.