Decide on sanction in one month: HC
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government to decide within one month on the grant of sanction to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a sedition case for allegedly raising anti-national slogans during an event at the varsity’s campus on February 9, 2016.
Chief metropolitan magistrate Manish Khurana said the issue of sanction wasted judicial time as the case was repeatedly adjourned for lack of sanction to prosecute those named in the charge sheet.
“The time which is being taken to finalise the issue of sanction or otherwise has caused wastage of judicial time as the case has been listed and adjourned repeatedly since the filing of the charge sheet,” the judge said.
“It is expected of the Delhi government that the decision regarding the sanction or otherwise would be taken within one month from today so that further proceedings in the present case may be done from today….,” the judge added in his brief order.
The order comes after the Delhi Police informed the court that the file seeking sanctions is pending with the home department of the Delhi government and is still under consideration.
The judge then sought to know when the police apply for the sanction.
“When did you apply for the sanction? It’s been more than four-five months and you have still not got the sanction,” he remarked during the hearing.
The court, while setting the deadline, directed the report be filed by October 25, fixing it as the next date of hearing.
On January 14, the police filed a charge sheet against Kumar and others, including former (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, alleging they were leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on campus during an event on February 9, 2016. The students have denied the charges and accused the police of filing a false case against them on the basis of doctored videos.