Going through JNU sedition charge sheet: CM Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: After a rap from the court, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday stated that the Delhi government is studying the JNU sedition charge sheet and will take a decision only after going through the case.

It was only a few days ago that the government accepted that the matter is being looked into by the law department. The police had requested for sanction to prosecute the accused but the necessary approval is still pending, the court had pointed out.

“We are studying the charge sheet, the police itself took three years to file the matter, so the government is also taking some time to look into it. Many questions are being raised about the timing of the filing of the matter,” Kejriwal said.  

Both, the government and the police in the past blamed each other in the case. According to the Delhi Police, sanction for prosecution is required at the stage of taking cognizance of a charge sheet. While filing the charge sheet, the investigating officer had mentioned that he applied for prosecution sanction from the Delhi government.

However, the Delhi government had claimed that no file seeking any prosecution sanction in the JNU related-case had so far been put up or brought to the notice of any minister.Earlier, the Delhi law minister had demanded an explanation from the principal secretary, law, for “insubordination”, stating that the officer moved the file without the minister seeing it.

On January 14, the police filed the charge sheet at a court against former JUSU head Kanhaiya Kumar and others, saying he was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans at the varsity campus during an event on February 9, 2016.

Good lawyer in Soumya case

CM Arvind Kejriwal directed Chief Secretary Vijay Dev to ensure that a Special Public Prosecutor is immediately appointed in the murder trial of journalist Soumya Viswanathan. “It has been brought to my notice and the government will ensure appointment of a good lawyer in this case. Show cause notice will be issued to the public prosecutor concerned responsible for any negligence,” Kejriwal said. The trial is being held in the Saket’s district court. The move comes after Soumya’s aged parents wrote to the CM  about their concerns with the trial in the case.