2016 JNU Sedition Case: Delhi Court Orders Supply Of Chargesheet To Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid And Ors

A Delhi Court on Monday granted bail to all the accused persons in the 2016 JNU Sedition case involving former JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya along with other 7 co accused persons who were summoned by the Court last month. 

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma granted bail to 7 accused persons namely Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayees Rasool, Basharat and Khalid Bashir Bhatt. It is pertinent to note that Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban were already granted bail in the matter by the Court. The Court released the accused persons on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs. 25000 each.

At the outset, the Court also directed the the copy of the chargesheet to be supplied to all the accused persons in the matter.

Advocate Sushil Bajaj, Sarim Naved, Warisha Farasat And Sanya Kumar are some of the counsels appearing on behalf of accused persons in the matter.

The matter has been put up for scrutiny of documents and will now be heard on April 7th 2021.

Background

A FIR was registered on February 11, 2016 against unidentified persons for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on February 9, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

In January 2019, a chargesheet in the case was filed before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, naming the above accused persons. The chargesheet alleges that Kumar had incited the mob to shout anti-India slogans and contains CCTV footage, mobile footage and documentary evidence.

The chargesheet was however rejected by the Magistrate on January 19, 2019, citing lack of requisite sanctions.

[Note: As per Section 196 of CrPC, prosecution for the offence of sedition under Section 124A in Chapter VI of IPC cannot be carried forward without the sanction of the State Government.]

In February 2020, the Delhi Government granted sanction to prosecute persons accused of sedition for raising anti-national slogans during the 2016 protest march.

They have been charged with offences under sections 124A (sedition), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 465, 471 (forgery), 143, 149 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.