JNU Sedition: Almost 3 Years On, Police Submits Draft Charge Sheet

The draft charge sheet has been sent to the public prosecutor and is expected to be filed in Patiala House Court.

Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar.

(Photo: The Quint)

After a delay of almost three years, Delhi Police’s Special Cell has finalised the draft charge sheet against students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for allegedly raising “anti-national slogans” during an event on campus on 9 February 2016.

According to The Indian Express, the draft charge sheet – that names then JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya as the main accused – has been sent to the public prosecutor for vetting and is expected to be filed in the Patiala House Court soon.

”Police have found concrete evidence against the eight others, all hailing from Kashmir… two of them are students at JNU, two at Jamia Millia Islamia, one at Aligarh Muslim University, one is a Muradnagar-based doctor and two are students,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity.

According to police sources quoted in the report, the charge sheet was delayed since forensic reports on data from mobile phones and laptops of the accused were received only recently.

When The Quint had asked Pramod Kushwaha, DCP, Special Cell, last year about the progress in this regard, he had said, “It is an investigation matter. We cannot share the details.”

The Case

The sedition case, which was registered on the basis that “anti-national” slogans were raised at an event to mark the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, prompted a nationwide debate in 2016 with many criticising police’s response as suppression of free speech and dissent.

Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya were believed to have been closely involved with the event, and were arrested soon after incident. However, they were eventually given bail.

Police had based its case on several videos of the event in the JNU campus that showed such sloganeering. However, a district magistrate’s probe found several videos of the incident to have been doctored.

‘Case a Tool to Gain Political Mileage’

Speaking to The Quint last year, Khalid had said that the case was always intended to be used as a tool to get political mileage, and would not stand the scrutiny of law.

“The ambiguity around the whole case actually helps some. If the facts come out, they won’t be able to get political mileage. It’s very clear that the police has been used as a political tool in this entire case.”

Umar Khalid, JNU Student