The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to direct the city government to grant sanction for prosecution of former JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar said it was for the Delhi government to decide as per existing rules, policy, law and facts of that case on whether to grant approval for prosecution.
‘Personal interest’
While disposing of the petition, the high court said it appeared that the petitioner, former BJP MLA Nand Kishor Garg, has some personal interest in the FIR lodged against Mr. Kumar and others in relation to the JNU sedition case of 2016.
Mr Garg, in his plea, had sought issuance of guidelines “for expeditious disposal of criminal cases of serious nature where there is involvement of the influential persons as accused”.
The High Court said there are adequate number of judgements by the various courts on the issue and hence there was no reason to direct the government for such guidelines over and above the existing law.
The police had filed a chargesheet against Mr. Kumar and others, including former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, saying they were leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the university campus during an event on February 9, 2016.
Mr. Garg, in his plea, had said that a “speedier outcome of the cases would act as deterrence to the community as well as prevention of crimes”.
He also said that the Delhi government was not complying with the law of the land “as large number of cases are not being investigated on account of administrative lapses”.
“This approach of the government seems to be sending message to the citizenry that the law can be differently applied to different citizen due to their proximity to the political establishment,” the petition said.
