SC adjourns hearing in plea against Delhi HC order in 2016 JNU sedition case

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing in a petition filed against the Delhi High Court order, which had refused to pass any order for the grant of sanction by the State of NCT of Delhi for trial in the 2016 JNU sedition case.

A bench of the Apex Court, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, adjourned the matter for a week.

Petitioner Shashank Deo Sudhi has sought a direction to the respondent, GNCT, Delhi to grant immediate sanction in a case titled as State versus Kanhaiya Kumar in the 2016 case registered at Vasant Kunj police station which is being deliberately delayed by the respondent, GNCT, Delhi, by not granting the sanction.

He sought a direction to the respondents, including the GNCT, Delhi, for issuance of guidelines for expeditious prosecutions in respect of all sensitive criminal and corruption-related cases where the allegations are serious in nature and are having widespread ramifications on the community in terms of deterrence.

The lapses of respondents could amount to threat to the rule of law and democratic structure of our country for not having carried out adequate caution and precaution to bring the real culprits to justice in a time-bound manner, the petition stated.

The petitioner also sought a direction that in long-pending cases where the state government had not lived up to the rule of law by not adhering to the solemn oath taken by the lawmakers under Schedule-III of the Constitution of India.

The petitioner sought a direction to the respondent GNCT, Delhi, to constitute a high-powered committee to look into the aspects of delay in the procedural compliances which are leading to inordinate delay in the administrative processes for grant of sanction or other compliances in the criminal cases of the state including the above said criminal case.