Chidambaram slams Delhi govt on Kanhaiya case

Feb 29, 2020
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has slammed the Arvind Kejriwal government for giving sanction for prosecution of former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar in a 2016 sedition case.

Chidambaram called the Delhi government “ill-informed”. “Delhi Government is no less ill-informed than the central government in its understanding of sedition law”, Chiadambaram said in a tweet.

He also criticized the Delhi government for giving the sanction. “I strongly disapprove of the sanction granted to prosecute Mr Kanhaiya Kumar and others for alleged offences under sections 124A and 120B of IPC”, he added.

The Delhi government on Friday had granted sanction to the Delhi Police to prosecute former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the 2016 sedition case.

“We have received the sanction from the Delhi government to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others in this case,” a senior police officer told IANS.

The Delhi Police Special Cell on February 19 wrote to the Delhi Home Secretary requesting to “expedite” the process of grant of sanction in the JNU sedition case involving former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar.

In a letter written by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, Pramod Singh Kushwaha to the Deputy Secretary, Home, he said, “It is therefore requested to expedite the process to accord prosecution sanction under Section 196 CrPC as required for offence under Chapter VI of the IPC i.e. Section 124A IPC.”

A Delhi court had asked the Delhi government to file a status report relating to the issue of pendency of sanction in the case to prosecute student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and others. IANS