In JNU Sedition Case, Arvind Kejriwal Questions Timing Of Chargesheet

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in the JNU sedition case right before the Lok Sabha elections raises several questions and it needs to be "legally studied" by the AAP government.

Mr Kejriwal said the police took three years to file in a court the chargesheet in connection with the sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others.

Last month, the court had questioned the police for filing the chargesheet involving Kanhaiya and others without procuring the required sanction from authorities.

On Wednesday, the court asked the Delhi government to expedite the process of granting requisite sanction for prosecution in the case.

"The government is currently studying the chargesheet. It took Delhi Police three years to file a charge sheet...The police filed it without the government's nod, and also right before the elections, which raises several questions. There is a need to legally study it (the charge sheet)," Mr Kejriwal told reporters when asked about his government's stance on the issue.

According to the chargesheet, Mr Kumar was leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the JNU campus during an event on February 9, 2016.

Police also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during the event to mark the hanging of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

The event had taken place despite the university administration cancelling permission, following a complaint from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which had termed it "anti-national".