A Delhi court on Monday sought a report from the Delhi Police in connection with the sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders, ANI reported. Former JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar is among the accused in the 2016 sedition case.
The Delhi Police on Monday told the court that authorities were yet to give requisite sanctions to prosecute the accused, PTI reported. The chief public prosecutor informed the court that it could take two to three months to procure the sanctions.
“You [Police] could have filed [chargesheet] after procuring sanction only. What was the hurry?” Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat said. “I can go ahead with the case.” It sought an update from the Deputy Commissioner of Police assigned to the case.
At a hearing last month, the court had asked the city police to procure sanctions by February 28. Earlier, on January 19, it had criticised the police for filing a chargesheet in the 2016 case without the approval of the Delhi government.
On February 28, the court had chided the Aam Aadmi Party government for delaying the process to grant the required sanction. Sherawat had said the court will proceed with the case even if the administration does not grant the requisite permission.
The case is related to accusations against Kanhaiya Kumar and others in connection with anti-national slogans allegedly chanted at the campus during a demonstration on February 9, 2016. The Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet in a local court on January 14.
The next hearing in the case will take place on March 29.
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