'Sedition law being misused for political gains': Ex-JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar demands 'speedy trial'
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Former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students' Union Kanhaiya Kumar on Saturday expressed his doubts regarding the timing of the permission granted by the Delhi government to prosecute him and two others in the JNU sedition case dating back to 2016.
Kanhaiya also demanded a 'speedy trial' and said that "the entire country gets to know how a law like sedition is being misused", hinting at the fact that a four-year-old sedition is being intentionally brought up for nefarious political motives.
In a surprise move, the Delhi government headed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday sanctioned the prosecution of former JNU Students' Union Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in the 2016 sedition case.
"Thank you Delhi government for granting permission in the sedition case. Delhi Police and government officials are requested to take this case seriously, a speedy trial must be held in a fast track court and justice is ensured in the court of law instead of TV's 'court'. Satyameva Jayate," Kanhaiya said in a tweet in Hindi.
"There is a need for speedy action and fast track courts in sedition cases so that the country gets to know how this law has been misused for political gains and to divert people from basic issues," he added.
Delhi Police has charged Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya with raising 'anti-national slogans' during an event in February 2016, which was organised to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
Delhi Police, in its 1200-page charge sheet filed in January last year, had contended that there were videos wherein Kumar could be seen on February 9, 2016 "leading the students who were raising anti-national slogans" in the JNU campus and that he had been identified by witnesses.
It said that there were video footages wherein Kanhaiya Kumar is seen leading the students who were raising anti-national slogans and that he had been identified by the witnesses in the videos. The controversial video showed a gathering of JNU students raising ‘anti-national’ slogans such as ‘Kitne Afzal maaroge, ghar ghar se Afzal niklenge’, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, 'India Tere Tukde Tukde Honge', 'India Go Back' etc.
The last hearing held in the matter earlier this month was adjourned till April 3, due to pending sanctions by the Delhi government.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Purshottam Pathak adjourned the matter after the investigating officer in the case informed the court the required sanctions are yet to be received from the Home Department of the government and there have been no updates on it.
The court had also asked the Delhi government to submit a status report in this regard and directed Delhi Police to send the government a reminder seeking the requisite sanctions.
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