The Supreme Court invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to quash criminal cases filed against NEET protesters. Article 142 lets the Court pass any order needed to "do complete justice", enforceable across India, but it cannot violate the Constitution or fundamental rights and normally cannot replace substantive law or affect non-parties. In Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) the Court allowed departure from law for complete justice, subject to public policy, and in High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of UP (2024) it held the power cannot breach natural justice.