Geelani to remain in custody till March 16

POLICE CLAIM BEFORE THE COURT THAT “ANTINATIONAL” VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND SPEECHES WERE MADE DURING THE PROTEST

NEW DELHI: SAR Geelani, a Delhi University professor accused of sedition, will remain in jail for another fortnight. Detained within days of JNU student body president Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest, Geelani’s judicial custody was extended till March 16 by a Delhi court on Thursday.

The 46 year-old professor had pleaded for bail before a Delhi court on February 19 but his application was denied the next day by metropolitan magistrate Harwinder Singh.

Geelani’s arrest, which came amid a heated debate on the validity of the law of sedition trigged by JNU student body president Kanhaiya Kumar’s jailing, was on charges of organising an event at the Press Club of India to mark the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

During his bail hearing, Delhi Police claimed before court that “anti-national” visual representations and speeches were made during the protest.

However, arguing on behalf of bail, Geelani’s lawyer Satish Tamta said he had expected “a better reply” from police as they had time to investigate the matter now. Police, however, said that they were still trying to trace other suspects.

“It’s been three days since my arrest, if they can’t find other suspects how is that my fault?” asked Tamta during arguments on behalf of Geelani.

Tamta also pointed out that police had brought up Geelani’s alleged involvement in the Parliament attack case “just to prejudice” his client. He added that the professor was honourably acquitted by the Delhi high court.