India Tomorrow

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 28— The Delhi government of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday gave its nod to the city police to prosecute former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and former scholars of the university Umar Khalid and Anirban in a 2016 sedition case. The file has been with the Home Department of the Delhi government since May 5, 2019.

The police had filed the sedition case alleging that these student leaders had raised some anti-national slogans – the charge denied by the student leaders from day one.

Both Kanhaiya and Umar were arrested days after the February 2016 incident but were later released by the Delhi High Court.

Following the Kejriwal government’s decision to allow prosecution in the JNU sedition case, both Kanhaiya and Umar have come out with their comments.

“Thank you Delhi government for giving permission for sedition case. I request Delhi Police and public prosecutor to take this case seriously now, speedy trial is ensured in fast-track court and instead of ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ of TV channels, justice in ensured in court of law. Satyameva Jayate (truth will win),” tweeted Kanhaiya in Hindi.

He further said: “There is a need for fast track courts and speedy trial in the sedition so that the country can know how the sedition law has been misused in this entire case for political gains and to divert people from their basic issues.”

Umar Khalid also issued a statement, which he said is also from Anirban.

“The news of Delhi govt granting sanction to sedition case against us doesn't trouble us at all. We are confident of our innocence, have full faith in the judiciary & have ourselves been demanding the case against us to be tried in the courts,” he said.

The trial in the court, Umar said, will “expose the lies of the ruling regime.”

“The ensuing trial will vindicate us & prove that the media trial at the behest of the ruling regime was false, malicious & politically motivated. We have lived under the shadow of these false charges for far too long. Finally, sab doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani hoga! And as we will defend ourselves in the court, we will expose the lies of the ruling regime and its fake claims of being nationalist”, he further said.

In the days after the Feb 2016 incident, TV channels had created so much hostile situation for the student leaders that Kanhaiya was assaulted by a mob inside a Delhi court premises.