Delhi Police sends reminder to AAP govt on sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar after direction from court

The Delhi Police on Wednesday wrote to the AAP government requesting it to expedite the process to accord sanction to prosecute former JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a sedition case, officials said.

It comes hours after a court directed the police to send a reminder to the Delhi government on its application for prosecution sanction which is pending with the home department since January 14, 2019.

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.

Till 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 which is handling the case, 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."