JNU sedition case: Kanhaiya, others to face trial, summoned on March 15
A 12 months after the Delhi Police acquired prosecution sanction in opposition to former JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and 9 others within the 2016 JNU sedition case, a Delhi court docket Monday took cognisance of the chargesheet and summoned all of the accused on March 15.
In its chargesheet, police claimed Kumar led a procession and supported — together with others named as accused — seditious slogans raised on the JNU campus on February 9, 2016, throughout an occasion to mark the hanging of Parliament assault convict Afzal Guru.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Patiala House Courts) Dr Pankaj Sharma, whereas taking cognisance of the chargesheet in opposition to Kumar, Syed Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain Gattoo, Muneeb Hussain Gattoo, Umar Gul, Rayees Rasool, Basharat Ali and Khalid Bashir Bhatt, mentioned, “The sanction to prosecute accused persons has already been filed by the Home Department, GNCT [Delhi government], dated February 27, 2020. After careful perusal of the chargesheet and consideration of the material, all the accused persons are summoned to face trial and they have been summoned through investigation officer for March 15, 2021.”
The accused face fees below IPC sections 124A (sedition), 323 (voluntarily inflicting damage), 465 (forgery), 471 (utilizing as real a cast doc or digital document), 143, 149 (being a member of an illegal meeting), 147 (rioting) and 120B (felony conspiracy).
The look forward to prosecution sanction had been an irritant between the the AAP authorities in Delhi and the Centre. Police claimed the trial was stalled for need of sanction and several other BJP leaders accused AAP of defending the scholars by not giving the go-ahead.
On February 5 final 12 months, within the run-up to the Delhi Assembly election, Union Home Minister Amit Shah instructed a ballot assembly that if the BJP had been to be voted to energy, it might grant prosecution sanction in opposition to Kumar and Khalid, in addition to JNU PhD scholar Sharjeel Imam, “within one hour” of forming the federal government.
On February 27, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP authorities gave police the go-ahead to prosecute the accused. In an order, the Deputy Secretary (Home) acknowledged: “Whereas on perusal of the chargesheet under Sections 124-A and 120-B IPC at Vasant Kunj (North) police station, and on consideration of the allegations made in case, and other material and evidences placed on record, it appears to the government of NCT of Delhi that the accused persons, have prima facie committed an offence under Section 124-A and 120-B IPC.” IPC part 124-A pertains to sedition and 120-B to felony conspiracy.
