Three years after "anti-national slogans" were allegedly raised on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, Delhi Police on 14 January filed a charge sheet against nine people, including Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid, under charges of sedition, rioting, unlawful assembly, and others.
Apart from them, 32 others were put in the list of persons against whom sufficient evidence has not been found to launch trial.
Here’s the chronology of events – starting from the cold evening of 9 February 2016, when a public gathering was turned into a battleground.
Sequence of Events
- On 9 February 2016, JNU students organised a meet in solidarity with Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist who was convicted and executed in the 2001 Parliament attack case. This was not the first time such a meet had been organised in JNU.
- Upon hearing about the event, ABVP approached university authorities asking them to cancel permission for the event.
- Acting upon ABVP’s protest, university authorities cancelled the permission.
- The meeting was carried out nonetheless. Authorities say permission had been originally granted based on “incomplete information”.
- It was at this event that “anti-national slogans” were allegedly raised by students and those who participated from outside campus. There was loud sloganeering on both ends.
- University authorities ordered a disciplinary probe into the incident.
- The police began investigating the case on 11 February 2016.
- A day later, Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested by Delhi Police.
What Happened After Kanhaiya’s Arrest
- Kanhaiya was arrested on 12 February 2016.
- He was produced at the Patiala House Court on 17 February and was beaten up by lawyers while he was being taken to be produced in front of the magistrate.
- Kanhaiya applied for bail in the Supreme Court on 18 February 2016, fearing his life. His plea was transferred to Delhi HC and the police was asked to ensure proper security.
- Delhi Police opposed Kanhaiya’s bail plea in the Delhi High Court.
- Kanhaiya was granted bail almost a month later on 2 March with a warning. He was asked to guarantee he will not indulge in any “anti-national activities” and cooperate with the investigation.
- Meanwhile, JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested two weeks after the incident – on 24 February 2016. They moved the Delhi HC seeking police protection prior to surrender on 23 February.
- On 26 August 2016, Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban were granted regular bail by a Delhi court.
- On 14 January 2019, police filed chargesheet against Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban and others under offences of sedition, rioting and criminal conspiracy.
Political Attacks and Counters in February 2016
The sequence of events led to political slugfest across the board.
Amit Shah, BJP: Any kind of anti-national activity will not be accepted in any part of the country. If, contrary to their past statements, Congress believes that anti-nationals shouldn’t be supported, then the Congress President & Vice President should make this clear and apologise to the nation.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress: RSS is suppressing the voice of students whether in Delhi, Hyderabad or Lucknow. People have the right to have an opinion but have no business imposing their opinion on others or crushing other people’s viewpoint.
Arvind Kejriwal, AAP: No one supports anti-national forces. But targeting innocent students using that as an excuse will prove very costly for the Modi government. This is shocking. Who shouted anti-India slogans?
Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M): What is happening in JNU? Police on campus, arrests and picking up students from hostels. This had last happened during Emergency. The Union Home Minister has made a very serious allegation about terrorists ‘backing’ JNU protests. We hope that he has concrete proof.
(With PTI inputs)
(This story has been updated.)
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