'Judicial time wasted': Delhi court asks Kejriwal govt to decide on sanction for JNU sedition case within a month

A Delhi court on Wednesday asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to take a decision in the sedition case against former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others within a month as the delay has caused wastage of judicial time.

This came after Delhi police told the court that the sanction of charge sheet against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)  Student Union's president for is still pending with the Home Department of the Delhi government.

"The time which is being taken to finalise the issue of sanction or otherwise has caused wastage of judicial time as the case had been listed and adjourned repeatedly since the filing of the charge sheet," the Patiala House Court observed. 

"It is expected of the Delhi government that the decision regarding the sanction or otherwise would be taken within one month so that further proceeding in the present case may be done," the court observed. 

The next date of hearing has been set for October 25.

Earlier, the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Khurana was told that Delhi government has not yet given sanction to prosecute Kumar and other accused. 

Public prosecutor Vikas Singh has also filed a reply letter in the court.

A letter from the Deputy Secretary of the Home Department stated that the matter is still under consideration and decision has not been taken till now.

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the court cannot take cognisance of the police chargesheet in a sedition case without sanction from the home department of the concerned state.

In the charge sheet filed in a court in January, Delhi Police said there were video footages wherein Kumar is "seen leading the students who were raising anti-national slogans" and he had been identified by the witnesses in the videos.

"The location of mobile phone at the place of occurrence" was also cited as evidence against Kumar in the 1200-page charge sheet.

The police said the Forensic Science Laboratory had retrieved an SMS sent by Khalid to Kumar, asking him to "arrive at Sabarmati Dhaba, JNU, as their permission had been cancelled by the JNU administration." 

(With ANI inputs)