Delhi government seeking legal advice to grant prosecution sanction in JNU sedition case: Report

The Delhi government is seeking legal advice with regard to granting sanction for prosecution in the JNU sedition case, government sources said on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party government and the Delhi Police traded allegations after a court questioned the department for filing a charge sheet in the sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others without procuring the required sanction from authorities.

Delhi government sources said there are rules laid down by the court for sanction of prosecution and they will be followed.

"The rules allow three months time to the government for granting sanction. Delhi Police took three years to file the charge sheet. The government must be allowed due diligence and legal advice at its disposal before taking a decision," a source said.

However, if the government consumes the three-month period without taking any decision, the sanction is deemed granted, he said.

The Delhi Police had filed the charge sheet in the court on January 14, saying sanction for prosecution was pending before the government.

"Why did you file (the charge sheet) without approval? You don't have a legal department," the court asked police on Saturday.

According to the charge sheet, Kumar was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the JNU campus during an event on February 9, 2016.

Police also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during the event to mark the hanging of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

The event had taken place despite the university administration cancelling the permission following a complaint from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which had termed it "anti-national".