The Delhi Police has been asked to seek expedited sanction to prosecute JNU Student Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others in a sedition case. The Patiala House court also told the Delhi government that it cannot sit on the file related to the sanction for an indefinite period.
"Precious time of the court is being wasted as the decision with respect to grant of the sanction hangs fire. After filing of the chargesheet, no department can sit on its hands with the file with regard to the sanction," the court said, giving the Delhi Police until February 28 to procure the required sanction.
On Tuesday, officers of the special cell informed the court that they were still awaiting government sanction.
The Delhi police had filed a 1,200-page chargesheet on January 14 against Kanhaiya Kumar and former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya in a city court. It said Kanhaiya was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans during an event in the varsity on February 9, 2016, to mark the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Apart from Kanhaiya, Khalid and Bhattacharya, Umar Gul, Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Rayeea Rasool and Bashir Bhat were also named in the sedition case.