After refusing to accept Delhi Police’s charge sheet in the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition case on Saturday, 19 January, the Patiala House court asked it to procure the requisite sanctions from the Delhi government by 6 February, when it will hear the matter next.
Days after the Delhi Police filed the charge sheet naming Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and seven Kashmiri students, the court asked why the charge sheet was filed without procuring the requisite sanctions from the Delhi government under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Taking permission is a mandatory requirement in sedition cases.
“Why did you file (the charge sheet) without approval? You don’t have a legal department.”Patiala House Court
The police told Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat they will procure the required sanctions within 10 days.
The court is likely to resume hearing on the matter soon.
The Delhi Police had on 14 January filed the charge sheet against Kumar and others, saying he was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the varsity campus during an event in February 2016.
Police also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during the event held on 9 February 2016, to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.
Delhi Govt to Decide on Sedition Charge Sheet
According to a Delhi Police source to The Quint, the charge sheet could become a problem for the Delhi government.
“If the government accepts it, then it will affect them politically. And if they reject, then Kanhaiya and others will go scot-free,” the source said.
There is no stipulated time to accept or reject the charge sheet.
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