Bihar court orders registration of case against Kanhaiya

A Bihar court today ordered police to register a case against JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others for allegedly raising anti-national slogans at the premier educational institution.
Munger Chief Judicial Magistrate Anjana Lal gave the order to Kotwali police after hearing a complaint filed by advocate Ravi Shankar Roy.
Besides Kanhaiya, CPI leader D Raja's daughter Aprajita, Delhi University professor Ali Javed, administrative officer of JNU Jagdish Singh and four JNU students - Umar Khalid, Rubina, Rehana and Bhattacharya, who had organised the programme in the premier institution, have been made party and against whom the court ordered police to lodge case, the petitioner's counsel Shashi Kumar said.

The complaint was filed under IPC sections 120 B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Government of India), 121 A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121), 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration).
Pais said that event organised by both the accused cannot
be termed as unlawful assembly, even though the permission to hold that meeting was cancelled as no violence took place.

"My clients are already in the custody since February 23 after they voluntarily surrendered, including seven days' police custody. They were absent for few days before surrendering because there was serious threat to life," the counsel said.

He also said that their absence is resulting in ex-parte orders passed by the committees set-up by JNU in this matter.
Identical arguments were made by Umar's counsel Jawahar Rana.
While seeking bail on the ground of parity, the counsel said, "Their co-accused Kanhaiya Kumar has already been granted bail and there were similar allegations against him as well. This case is not different from Kanhaiya's. Besides these three, seven persons were also named in the case but they are also free."

Advocate Yashpal, caught on camera attacking JNU students and media persons in the Patiala House Court Complex on February 15 and 17, was also present in the proceedings, which took place amid high security.
The advocates, related to the case, were also taken out of the court in police escort.
The police had arrested Umar and Anirban for allegedly organising a controversial event at JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were alleged to have been raised.
Their judicial custody was yesterday extended by the court till March 29.
The duo had returned to the JNU campus on February 21 after going missing since February 12.

Delhi Police had issued a look-out notice on February 20 against Umar, Anirban and three other students -- Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash.
Kanhaiya was earlier granted interim bail for six months by the Delhi High Court.