Delhi CM Kejriwal to seek "early decision" on Kanhaiya Kumar's JNU sedition case

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he will ask the department concerned to take an "early decision" on the prosecution sanction against former JNU students' union president and CPI(M) leader Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a sedition case. The chief minister's comments came hours after a court directed the Delhi government to file a status report till April 3 on the issue of sanctions to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others.

"I don't have a say in the department concerned (home). I cannot change their (department's) decision, but will ask them to decide as soon as possible," Kejriwal told reporters when asked about prosecution sanction pending with the Delhi government in the sedition case.

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Sources in the government said the Home department has to take a decision in connection with the case. While hearing the case, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Purushottam Pathak also directed the Delhi Police to send a reminder to the city government seeking requisite sanctions to prosecute Kumar. The court passed the directions after police submitted that permission to prosecute Kumar and others has not been granted yet and the letter requesting sanction is pending with GNCTD.

JNU sedition case

Following the JNU sedition case’s recent timeline; on April 3, the AAP government had informed the court that it would take a month to decide whether to grant sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others. Later, on April 5, the Delhi Government had submitted a reply before the Special CBI court. 

This reply showed that the Delhi Police had filed the charge sheet in the case in a "secretive" and "hasty" manner, without obtaining approval of the appropriate authority. And subsequently, on July 23 this year, Delhi Police was granted time till September 18 to obtain the requisite sanction in the JNU sedition case.  

The police in its January charge sheet claimed that there were videos wherein Kanhaiya Kumar was seen leading a group of students. According to the sheet, a few witnesses also identified the group of students raising anti-national slogans on the JNU campus. The police have charged Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya for raising 'anti-national slogans' during an event organised in college. This event had been organised to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Videos of the sloganeering had been accessed by Republic TV.

(With PTI inputs) 

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