2016 JNU Sedition Case: Delhi Government Gives Nod to Prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid

The case pertains to alleged anti-national slogans raised by a section of JNU students on February 9, 2016 during a protest on the campus against the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on his third death anniversary. Another ex-JNU student Anirban Bhattacharya is the third accused in the case.

New Delhi: In a major development, the Delhi government on Friday finally gave its approval to the Delhi Police to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others involved in the 2016 JNU sedition case.

The two others who will now face trial in the case along with Kanhaiya are former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.

Notably, the Delhi Police had filed its chargesheet in the case in a Delhi court on January 14. However, it applied to the Delhi government for prosecution sanction just two hours before filing the chargesheet. In the absence of approval from the Delhi government, the court had been deferring taking cognisance of the chargsheet.

The case pertains to alleged anti-national slogans raised by a section of JNU students on February 9, 2016, during a protest on the campus against the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on what was the third anniversary of his hanging. Four days later, the police arrested then-JNUSU president Kanhaiya, triggering massive outrage. Following his arrest, both Umar and Anirban surrendered to the police.

In response to the arrests, student protests took place in various parts of the country. All three were later granted bail.

Kanhaiya Kumar contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a Communist Party of India (CPI) from Begusarai in Bihar but was defeated comprehensively by the BJP’s Giriraj Singh.