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Delhi

Delhi law dept examining JNU sedition case, says CM

NEW DELHI: The day after law minister of Delhi Kailash Gahlot served show cause notice to law secretary on the sedition matter, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Delhi government's law department was examining granting sanction for prosecution of former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case. He, however, accused the Centre of committing 'sedition' by creating hurdles in the works of Delhi government.

"I do not know whether Kanhaiya has committed sedition or not, which is being examined by the law department," tweeted the Chief Minister in Hindi. Slamming the Centre CM Kejriwal further tweeted, "On the other hand, Modi ji has stalled (works on) schools for children, hospitals, installation of CCTV cameras, setting up of mohalla clinics in Delhi — is this not sedition?" Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

The AAP-led Delhi government is seeking legal advice with regard to granting sanction for prosecution in the JNU sedition case. "As the incident of JNU took place in Delhi, the state government is the ultimate authority to give sanction on the case. The home department would give the final sanction and before that, as it is a legal matter the department would reach out to the legal department to check the legal aspects. But ultimately as far as the case is concerned more than what is happening between the department is an internal matter but the government's decision would carry the soul importance," senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde told Millennium Post.

Last week, the ruling AAP and the Delhi Police had traded allegations after a court questioned the filing of a charge sheet in the sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others without procuring required sanction from authorities.

Meanwhile, Delhi Law Minister Kailash Gahlot has issued a notice to state Principal Secretary (Law) AK Mendiratta for clearing the sanction to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University students in a sedition case reported on Thursday. Mendiratta had sent the law department's opinion to the state home department, which is under Satyendra Jain. Gahlot, in his notice to Mendiratta on January 21, cited rules, saying that no decisions can be made or any opinion communicated to any other department without his approval. He also appraised Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon of the matter. Gahlot said Mendiratta's act of sending the file directly to Jain was "not only an act of insubordination but it appears to have been done intentionally so that the views of the law minister are not recorded on the file".

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