A Delhi court on Monday issued summon to Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and nine other accused in connection to the sedition case registered in 2016. All the accused are summoned to appear before the court on March 15.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Patiala House Courts) Dr. Pankaj Sharma took cognizance of the charge sheet filed by Delhi police and summoned all the accused. Delhi police had received prosecution sanction against Kanhaiya Kumar and nine other accused in the JNU sedition case last year.
The court has issued summon against Kanhaiya Kumar, Syed Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain Gattoo, Muneeb Hussain Gattoo, Umar Gul, Rayees Rasool, Basharat Ali, and Khalid Bashir Bhatt.
“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,” said CMM Sharma.
The accused are booked under Section 124A (sedition), Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 465 (forgery), Section 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), Section 143, Section 149 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), Section 147 (rioting) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.
The sanction of prosecution against all the accused in the JNU sedition case had been an irritant between the Centre and AAP government.
During a poll meeting on February 5, 2020, Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that if BJP were to be voted to power, it would grant prosecution sanction against Kumar and Khalid, as well as JNU PhD student Sharjeel Imam within one hour of forming the government.
On February 27, Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government sanctioned the prosecution. “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,” said Deputy Secretary.
Kanhaiya Kumar was accused of leading a procession and raising seditious slogans in the JNU campus on February 9, 2016, during an event to mark the hanging of Afzal Guru who was a convict in the Parliament attack.
