Students’ Protest Gains Momentum but Will Justice Prevail?
Follow the latest updates from the JNU protest and its aftermath here on The Quint.
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- JNU protests gain international support – Bierut, Africa, and Pakistan.
- OP Sharma gets arrested and bailed after 8 hours of questioning.
- Arrested JNU Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar moves Supreme Court for bail. Matter to be heard tomorrow.
- Ex-DU Professor SAR Geelani sent to 14 days judicial custody in Tihar jail under sedition charges.
- SAR Geelani names four students who were allegedly shouting ‘anti-national’ slogans.
- Supreme Court-appointed team that was abused at Patiala House Court to submit its report on the situation.
- Rahul Gandhi meets President, tells media that nationalism is in his blood.
- Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda says sedition law must be revisited.
Kanhaiya’s Family Refuses Protection
Father of JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who is in Tihar jail, has refused police protection offered to the family living in Begusarai, Bihar.
The family has alleged that the police wasn’t able to protect Kanhaiya and thus, cannot protect them.
JNU Protest Finds International Support
The student unions from across borders are standing with the protesters of JNU. student union from Pakistan, Africa, and the American University of Beirut have expressed solidarity with the students of JNU.
All three universities have condemned the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, president of JNU student union.
Bassi Reiterates Kanhaiya’s Culpability
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi has reiterated that the police have enough evidence to prove sedition against JNU student union Kanhaiya Kumar.
Bassi had said yesterday that he is not giving a clean chit to Kumar, but of he applies for bail, the Delhi police will not oppose to it.
Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested on the charges of sedition for raising anti-national slogans at an event held in solidarity with 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s second death anniversary.
Eight other students have been identified for raising slogans against the country.
The Delhi police special cell is going to launch a manhunt for Umar Khalid, the organiser of the event on Afzal Guru’s death anniversary – 9 February 2016, according to CNN IBN.
BJP MLA OP Sharma Arrested and Released
BJP MLA OP Sharma was released on bail at around 7 pm after being arrested today. He was caught in camera while he thrashed a member of Communist Party of India (CPI) Ameeque Jamei on Monday, 15 February 2016.
Sharma had denied the charges of beating up Jamei and said that it was Jamei who raised anti-national slogans in front of him and attacked him first.
Pak Students Stand With JNU
The Democratic Students’ Alliance of Pakistan, a student union, has written to express solidarity with the JNU student union president Kahnhaiya Kumar, according to CNN-IBN.
The letter from from across the border condemns the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar and the crackdown on the university by the government.
Protesters Stopped From Entering Jantar Mantar
The JNU students who arrived in series of buses at Mandi House region in Delhi were stopped from entering Jantar Mantar by the Delhi police.
The students have started a march in solidarity with the students caught in the JNU whirl-wind. The march has been blocked by the police barricades on Parliament Street.
BJP Moves HC Against Jadavpur University
The BJP has moved High Court against the “anti-national” slogans being raised in the campus of Jadavpur university, according to CNN-IBN.
A PIL has been filed to identify the people who raised the slogans in the university which erupted in protest after the JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested.
Ex-DU Prof Sent to Tihar
Ex-DU Professor SAR Geelani sent to 14 days of judicial custody in Tihar jail under sedition charges. According to reports, Geelani has moved a bail plea today which will be heard in the court tomorrow.
He was not be produced in Patiala House Court as scheduled today. This has been done because of security reasons according to the Times of India.
Geelani will be kept in the “High Risk Ward” of jail number 1 of Tihar central jail. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has also been sent to Tihar till 2 March.
Buses Full of JNU Students Arrive
Soli Sorabjee For Kanhaiya
According to media reports, former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee will lead a team of lawyers to help the JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar to get bail in the Supreme Court.
He was also present in the Patiala House Court today while a PIL against Kumar’s arrest was being heard.
Mediapersons Cover the Protest From Mandi House to Jantar Mantar
Kanhaiya Moves Supreme Court, Seeks Bail
Arrested JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has moved Supreme Court, seeking bail. The matter will be heard tomorrow. Senior Lawyer Raju Ramachandran filed petition for bail on behalf of Kanhaiya Kumar in court today.
The petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court because the situation in the lower court is ‘bad’; and that the atmosphere in the Patiala House Court complex isnot conducive to the hearing.
Protesters Sing Hum Honge Kamyab
BS Bassi: Students Were Involved in Seditious Activities
Speaking to CNN-IBN, Delhi Police Commissioner, BS Bassi said that students “were involved in seditious activities.” He also said that it was the JNU authorities who called the Delhi police when they could not control the crowd.
When asked about free speech, he said that one is allowed to be critical, but within the domain of the Constitution. “Free speech does not mean you can violate the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.
He also denied working for the BJP government, saying he was appointed by the Congress party.
Kejriwal: Why Are Those Who Attacked Students, Media Still Free?
Speaking to the media after meeting with the President, Kejriwal asked why those who have committed acts of violence are still free.
Lalu Prasad Tells it Like It Is
Nationalism is in My Blood: Rahul Gandhi
Speaking to the media after his meeting with the President, Rahul Gandhi said that nationalism is in his blood. He also condemned the attack on journalists.
ZEE News Reporters Given Red Roses in Protest
Law Minister Sadanand Gowda: Law on Sedition Needs Revisiting
CNN-IBN reported that the Law Minister, Sadanand Gowda has said that the law on sedition needs to be revisited, as it becomes a tool in the hands of political parties “when they have no other issues.”
He also condemned the violence perpetrated by lawyers in Patiala House Court yesterday and said that the Bar Council must make a decision about how the incident ought to be treated.
JNU: Slogans Demanding JNUSU President’s Release
JNU VC Requests that Protest March Be Cancelled
Students Gather At Sabarmati Hostel For Solidarity March
HRD Minister Smriti Irani Meets VCs
Human Resources and Development Minister, Smriti Irani, is meeting the Vice Chancellors of central universities across the country over the events at JNU and their aftermath.
Protesters Protesting in Support of JNU Students Detained in Chennai
Tamil folk singer Kovan & other protesters, protesting in support of JNU students have been detained.
SC to Hear Plea Over Police Not Opposing Kanhaiya’s Bail
The Supreme Court will hear a plea by lawyer RP Luthra, objecting to Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi’s statement that they will not oppose any plea for bail by JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, who is accused of sedition.
An apex court bench comprising Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said that it would hear the plea at 2 pm after counsel RP Luthra drew the attention of the court to the statement by the police commissioner.
On Wednesday, the court listed the matter at 2 pm to receive the Lawyers Committee report. The committee had been sent to Patiala House Court to take stock of the ruckus in the court complex and the attack on Kanhaiya Kumar.
The Registrar General of the High Court was also scheduled to submit his report to the court on Wednesday’s violence in the court complex and the presence of an unidentified man in the courtroom who allegedly hit Kanhaiya Kumar.
Increased Security Ahead of Protest March
BCI President Condems Violence at Patiala House Court
The Bar Council of India President, Manan Misra, condemned the violence at Patiala House Court. He has sought a probe by a retired HC judge.
The lawyers who have been accused of attacking journalists and students could lose their Bar licences if proven guilty, the BCI said.
ABVP Responds to Members’ Resignation
JNUSU Joint Secretary (ABVP), Saurabh Sharma, has responded to three members of the ABVP in JNU resigning from their posts.
Geelani Questioned
During his interrogation, SAR Geelani has named four students who were allegedly shouting ‘anti-national’ slogans, CNN-IBN sources have confirmed. The police are scanning CCTV footage and social media to find them. Geelani also admitted to organising similar events in 2011 and 2013.
Rahul Gandhi to Meet Pranab Mukherjee
Rahul Gandhi will lead a Congress delegation and meet the President today at 12.30 pm. His speech, offering support to the protesting JNU students has earned the ire of VK Singh and Baba Ramdev.
Baba Ramdev has said that “association with anti-nationals” is “treachery,” adding that politicians should go beyond vote bank politics and not compromise national unity and integrity.
A case has been registered against Rahul Gandhi in an Allahabad district court for his anti-RSS remark on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) incident. The PIL filed states that Gandhi took an ‘anti-national’ stand by voicing his support for the JNU students.
VK Singh has accused Rahul Gandhi of ‘destroying’ the nation.
Also read:
UP Court Admits Sedition Case Filed Against Rahul Gandhi
SC to Submit Report On Violence in Patiala House Court
The Supreme Court team that went to Patiala House Court yesterday following the assault on journalists will submit a report on the situation at Patiala House Court today. They will also submit audio evidence of the violence in court.
BJP Lawmaker OP Sharma Summoned to Court
BJP lawmaker, OP Sharma, who was seen assaulting a CPI leader and political activist Amequee Jamei in the Patiala House Court premises on 15 February, has been summoned to a Delhi court by the police today.
SAR Geelani to be Produced in Court, Kejriwal to Meet President
- Ex-Delhi University lecturer SAR Geelani will be produced in court today on sedition charges.
- A media delegation will meet President Pranab Mukherjee this evening, following repeated attacks on journalists by lawyers over the last few days.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that he and his cabinet colleagues will also meet the President to the discuss the law and order situation after the unrest over the arrest of JNUSU Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.
Kanhaiya Roughed Up in Court, ABVP Members Resign
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar was produced in Patiala House Court yesterday. His judicial custody has been extended till 2 March 2016. When he was produced in Patiala House Court for his hearing, he was roughed up by lawyers in the court premises.
The Supreme Court heard the plea by the media, demanding that the perpetrators of the Patiala House Court assault on reporters and students on 15 February, be brought to justice.
At the Patiala House court yesterday, reporters were once again assaulted by lawyers shouting nationalist slogans, despite a warning from the Supreme Court that such behaviour would not be tolerated. Again, despite a Supreme Court order, the police did not intervene.
Three members of the ABVP in JNU have resigned from their posts, citing the Centre’s intolerant behaviour as their reason for doing so, in an open letter on Facebook.
Amid mounting criticism against him, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi claimed that there was ‘adequate evidence’ of sedition against Kanhaiya Kumar.
Students and academics from universities in India and across the world have shown their solidarity with students and faculty protesting in JNU.
After JNU, students from Kolkata’s Jadavpur University are in trouble for shouting ‘anti-national’ slogans in a show of solidarity with students from JNU.
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