Hours after Delhi court directed police to send a reminder to the state government for prosecution sanction of former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others, pending with the home department since January 14, 2019, the Delhi Police on Wednesday wrote to the Aam Aadmi Party government requesting it to expedite the process.
Police had filed a charge sheet in January 2019 against Kumar and others, including former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, saying they were leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised on the campus during an event on February 9, 2016. The court had, however, asked the police to take requisite sanction for prosecution.
The letter stated that the application seeking sanction along with relevant documents was forwarded to the Home Department, Government of NCT Delhi on January 14, 2019, through the Police Headquarters. To date despite follow up, the file for seeking sanction is pending with the GNCT Delhi, it stated.
In its reminder, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, stated, “On February 19, 2020, the case was listed before Shri Purshottam Pathak, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Court, Delhi. The court has directed the Investigating agency to write a letter to GNCT of Delhi to expedite the decision on prosecution sanction.
“It is therefore requested to expedite the process to accord prosecution sanction as required.” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he will ask the concerned department for early decision in connection with the issue.
On Wednesday, the direction was issued after the investigating officer IO appraised the court that the permission to prosecute the accused had not been granted so far, and the file pertaining to their request was pending before the Delhi government’s home department.
Observing that “judicial time was wasted” on the issue, the court had on September 19 last year said it expected the Delhi government to take a decision within one month.