JNU row: HC asks police to file status report of probe in Kanhaiya case

Delhi high court on Tuesday directed the city police to file by Wednesday a status report of its investigation in the sedition case in which JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested.

The court's direction came while hearing Kanhaiya's bail plea which was opposed by Delhi Police.

As soon as the hearing commenced before Justice Pratibha Rani at 10.30am, the bench said, "Are you filing a status report? If you were aware, you should have done it."

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the police, told the bench that they were opposing the bail plea of Kanhaiya.

At this juncture, the bench said, "What about the status report. If you do not have the status report, I will not proceed. Ask your investigating officer to file the report."

ASG Mehta, however, told the bench that they will file the status report in a sealed cover as "this is a pre-charge sheet bail and the status report cannot be shown to the accused."

To this, the bench observed, "I do not need it in a sealed cover. You will have to file it. Issue notice. File the status report by tomorrow."

The bench, however, clarified that the status report will be limited to the extent of bail only.

As the matter commenced, senior standing counsel of Delhi government advocate Rahul Mehra opposed the appearance of ASGs Mehta and Sanjay Jain and lawyer Anil Soni, saying before appearing in the matter they should show notification in this regard.

"If they don't have the same (notification) they cannot stand on their legs before this court," Mehra told the bench.

elhi high court on Tuesday directed the city police to file by Wednesday a status report of its investigation in the sedition case in which JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested.

The court's direction came while hearing Kanhaiya's bail plea which was opposed by Delhi Police.

As soon as the hearing commenced before Justice Pratibha Rani at 10.30am, the bench said, "Are you filing a status report? If you were aware, you should have done it."

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the police, told the bench that they were opposing the bail plea of Kanhaiya.

At this juncture, the bench said, "What about the status report. If you do not have the status report, I will not proceed. Ask your investigating officer to file the report."

ASG Mehta, however, told the bench that they will file the status report in a sealed cover as "this is a pre-charge sheet bail and the status report cannot be shown to the accused."

To this, the bench observed, "I do not need it in a sealed cover. You will have to file it. Issue notice. File the status report by tomorrow."

The bench, however, clarified that the status report will be limited to the extent of bail only.

As the matter commenced, senior standing counsel of Delhi government advocate Rahul Mehra opposed the appearance of ASGs Mehta and Sanjay Jain and lawyer Anil Soni, saying before appearing in the matter they should show notification in this regard.

"If they don't have the same (notification) they cannot stand on their legs before this court," Mehra told the bench.

Advocate Mehra, however, said, "They have crossed the 'laxman rekha' and I will not allow this unless the court passes an order. I am appointed by the full court reference of this high court."

Mehra also contended that the status report in this matter has to be filed by the Delhi Police commissioner and he has to clarify his stand as he had earlier said that the police will not oppose Kanhaiya's bail plea.

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SC to hear contempt plea against Kanhaiya, Gilani on Monday

The students, who organised the event, also used social media platforms and "tarnished" the image of Supreme Court, it alleged.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Monday a plea seeking contempt action against jailed JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, former DU lecturer SAR Gilani and few others on the ground that they allegedly termed the execution of Afzal Guru as “judicial killing”.

A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices R. Banumathi and U.U. Lalit fixed the contempt plea for hearing on Monday when the plea alleged that by terming the execution as “judicial killing”, Kumar and others have committed contempt of the court which had delivered the verdict.

The plea, filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda, refers to the apex court verdict, pronounced on August 4, 2005 in the case, by which Guru was handed down death penalty for being part of the conspiracy in the attack on Parliament.

“The so-called cultural event’s pamphlets spoke about the judicial killing of Afzal Guru. The main topic of the ’cultural event’ organised was judicial killing of Afzal Guru which outright tantamount to criminal contempt as the respondents are calling the judges of the apex court as killers who have been projected to have committed judicial killing of Afzal Guru,” the plea said.

“Afzal and Yakub Memon were no martyrs as projected by the group of students of JNU. The Supreme Court has already passed a detailed judgement in both cases after giving due consideration as per law after going through the evidence,” it further said.

Pamphlets were allegedly distributed during the “so-called” cultural event held at JNU on February 9 that termed death sentence to Guru and Maqbool Bhatt as “judicial killing”, the plea said.

The students, who organised the event, also used social media platforms and “tarnished” the image of Supreme Court, it alleged.

Besides Kanhaiya and Gilani, the plea has sought contempt action against Umar Khalid, Lenin Kumar, Anirban Bhattacharya, Shehla Rashid Shora and Ali Javed.

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