Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday the Law Department was looking into the sedition case against Jawaharlal Nehru University students, the prosecution sanction for which is pending with the Delhi government.
Mr. Kejriwal tweeted that he did not know whether the then JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, the accused in the case regarding anti-India sloganeering during a 2016 protest, had committed sedition, however, the Law Department was examining it.
In the tweet that was written in Hindi, Mr. Kejriwal went on to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he (Mr. Modi) had stopped schools, hospitals, CCTV cameras and mohalla clinics from being set up in Delhi. Accusing the Prime Minister of trying to bring Delhi to a halt, Mr. Kejriwal asked “is this not sedition?”.
The Delhi Police had filed the chargesheet in the JNU case on January 14. The court refused to take cognisance of it on January 19, pulling up the police for not having the government’s sanction for prosecution.
The police had said they would get the sanction in 10 days. As on Thursday, Delhi government officials said the file pertaining to the sanction was being examined by Home Minister Satyendar Jain.
‘Did not receive file’
The Home Department had sent the file to the Law Department last week for its opinion, however, Law Minister Kailash Gahlot did not receive the file and it was returned to the Home Department, sources said.
Mr. Gahlot had written to Law Secretary Anoop Kumar Mendiratta earlier this week asking why he had been bypassed to which Mr. Mendiratta replied on Wednesday saying that the Law Minister was not the competent authority, two senior officers said.
An officer said files pertaining to prosecution sanction had been sent to the Law Minister in the past, not to decide on the merits of the case but to seek clarity on legal principles.
On his part, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta alleged that the Delhi government was “tacitly supporting” the chargesheeted JNU students.
Alleging that the Delhi government was “chalking out a political strategy in favour” of those charged with sedition in the case, Mr. Gupta termed it a “matter of deep concern”. “The Delhi government is trying to derail the process of justice by giving contradictory statements. The statement of Mr. Gehlot is shameful. AAP is putting blocks in law and order system. CM Kejriwal appears to be supporting tukre-tukre gang,” he alleged.
