JNU sedition case: Court asks Delhi police for status report

Delhi court has sought a status report on the grant sanctions by the AAP government to prosecute JNU Student Union President and Student leader. The court's direction came after the Investigating Officer told the court that he did not have any information regarding the grant of sanctions in the case.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday sought a status report from the Delhi Police on the grant of sanctions by the AAP government to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and student leader Umar Khalid in the JNU sedition case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Manish Khurana directed the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to file a status report on the grant of sanctions by September 18, the next date of hearing.

The court's direction came after the Investigating Officer (I/O) in the case told the court that he did not have any information regarding the grant of sanctions in the case.

On February 9, 2016, "anti-national" slogans were allegedly raised at the JNU campus during a programme called to protest against the death sentence handed out to Afzal Guru, a convict in the 2002 Parliament attack.

The 1,200-page charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch names 10 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and seven Kashmiris, as the main accused in the case.

The charge sheet says the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) retrieved the "SMS sent by Umar Khalid to Kanhaiya Kumar to arrive at Sabarmati Dhaba, JNU as their permission (to hold the protest) had been cancelled by the University administration".

The final pages of the charge sheet also confirm the presence of Kashmiri Students during the protest and that they were in contact with Umar Khalid.