2016 JNU sedition case: 7 of 10 accused get bail
New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Monday granted bail to seven of a total of 10 accused persons in connection with the 2016 JNU sedition case which also involves former JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, former students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.
This came after the court last month took cognisance of the chargesheet filed in the matter and issued summons to all the accused persons to be physically present before the court.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma granted bail to seven accused persons namely, Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayees Rasool, Basharat and Khalid Bashir Bhatt, on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 each.
Accused Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were already granted bail in the case earlier. Meanwhile, MM Sharma directed in his order to provide copies of the chargesheet to all the accused persons in the matter.
The case has now been put up for scrutiny of documents and will now be heard on April 7.
The matter pertains to an event on the JNU campus in 2016, marking the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where police claim that persons were allegedly resorting to anti-India sloganeering.
The FIR in the matter was filed on February 11 in 2016 against unknown persons on a complaint by a BJP MP and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, while in 2019, a chargesheet naming all 11 accused persons was filed before a magistrate court. However, after being rejected by the court due to lack of required sanctions, the AAP-led Delhi government in February 2020, granted sanction to prosecute the accused persons.
Kanhaiya Kumar, who was produced in court on Monday along with other accused, after the hearing said, "All has been done peacefully It has been five years since the incident happened. I request the court for a speedy trial.
My lawyer also requested the magistrate in the court today to give the earliest date. The next date is on April 7. I have full faith in the judicial system and justice will be served sooner or later."
