A Delhi court on Wednesday directed the Additional Public Prosecutor in the JNU sedition case to inform it within three days a time frame within which the Delhi government would be able to decide the prosecution sanction requested by the city police.
Former JNU Students’ Union president and CPI candidate for Begusarai in Bihar, Kanhaiya Kumar, and others are being prosecuted for sedition and other charges in the case.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat said: “The sanction to prosecute must be decided within a time span which is fairly necessary to do whatever is required to be done to ensure that trial may not be held back for too long.”
Home Dept letter
Observing that grant or refusal of sanction is an administrative act which must be performed within a reasonable time, Mr. Sherawat said, “The AAP is directed to submit a report as to within how much time the matter regarding grant or otherwise of sanction is likely to decided.”
Later, the CMM posted the matter to coming Friday.
Earlier, in compliance with the court order, the AAP filed a letter written by the government’s Home Department to the Director, Prosecution, where it was stated that the issue of sanction is under consideration. However, the letter did not mention any time frame on taking a decision on it.
Anti-India slogans
Thereafter, the court passed the direction seeking an exact time period for it.
The accused have been chargesheeted for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans on the JNU campus in 2016.
Section 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that “no court shall take cognisance of any offence punishable under Chapter VI of the Indian Penal Code except with the previous sanction of the Central government or of the State government.” And Section 124-A (sedition), under which the accused have also been charged, is placed under this chapter.
