The case is with regard to a 2016 incident. An FIR was filed on February 11th 2016 with respect to an alleged incident of students shouting anti-Indian slogans. This was to commemorate the hanging of Afzal Guru, the main accused in the Parliament attacks.
The accused have been identified based on video footages which showed Kanhaiya Kumar “he was seen leading the students who were raising anti-national slogan” which was also cross identified by eye-witnesses.
There was also an SMS which read “arrive at Sabarmati Dhaba, JNU, as their permission had been cancelled by the JNU administration” that was send by Umar Khalid to Kanhaiya Kumar.
Charges against Kanhaiya Kumar
The accused are charged under the following sections; Sections 124A (sedition), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 465 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 143, 149 (being a member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Order
The Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s office sent out a notice that stated that
“After careful perusal of the charge-sheet and consideration of the material, all the accused persons mentioned hereinabove are summoned to face trial for the offence under section 1294A/323/465/471/143/147/149/120B IPC. Accused persons be summoned through IO for 15.03.2021.”
The 10 accused who have summoned are Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain Gattoo, Muneeb Hussain Gattoo, Umar Gul, Rayees Rasool, Basharat Ali and Khalid Bashir Bhatt.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, of the Patiala House Courts, Dr Pankaj Sharma stated in the order that
“The sanction to prosecute accused persons has already been filed by the Home Department, GNCT [Delhi government], dated February 27, 2020. After careful perusal of the charge sheet and consideration of the material, all the accused persons are summoned to face trial and they have been summoned through investigation officer for March 15, 2021.”
AAP v. BJP
The JNU sedition case has been a point of contention between the AAP government of Delhi and the BJP government at the Centre. The BJP government in its election polling for the Delhi government had stated that they would ‘grant prosecution sanction’ to the accused if they formed the government.
The AAP government had released an official statement which read that
“On perusal of the charge sheet under Sections 124-A and 120-B IPC at Vasant Kunj (North) police station, and on consideration of the allegations made in case, and other material and evidences placed on record, it appears to the government of NCT of Delhi that the accused persons, have prima facie committed an offence under Section 124-A and 120-B IPC.”
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