Can a protest FIR stop your passport, foreign degree or career? An FIR alone shouldn't derail a career or passport. Yet lawyers say disclosures, background checks, and delays are real concerns. That's why many students at Jantar Mantar wore masks, not to hide wrongdoing, but to protect what comes after the protest. "I have no fear of police cases. What wrong are we doing? We are asking the government to meet our demands. We have no ill intentions, so why fear? We need a better education system." Ravi, 22, a Delhi resident at Jantar Mantar, spoke these words while standing among students, many of whom had covered their faces with masks and glasses, a day before Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday (July 25). Ravi is young and full of energy. He appears not to realise that even a complaint against him can later create problems in securing a job, obtaining a passport, or gaining admission abroad. The students at the protest site told India Today Digital they were not trying to attack anyone. They had hidden their faces to protect their identities from Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered facial recognition cameras deployed by the Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar. Exactly a week ago, on July 20, thousands marched under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the Chalo Sansad protest. The agitation grew out of the NEET-UG paper leak. The protest turned into a confrontation with police last Monday. Delhi Police's facial recognition system units and mobile surveillance vans at Jantar Mantar were looking at every face walking into the protest site. India Today TV later reported that the system flagged more than 2,500 people with existing criminal records. Fifteen FIRs have been registered against protesters so far in the clashes that took place in and around