DU Professor Sundar will not be arrested, Chhattisgarh tells SC

The Chhattisgarh government on Friday assured the Supreme Court that it will not arrest Delhi University Professor Nandini Sundar who has been named as an accused in the alleged murder of a tribal person in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

The assurance came as the bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel indicated that they may put on hold the FIR in which Sundar and other civil society activists have been named as accused in the November 4 murder of Shamnath Baghel by Maoists.

While telling the court that no coercive action would be taken against Sundar, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the state would submit to the court its report in a sealed cover before the next date of hearing on November 15. 

In an apparent reference to Sundar being booked in the murder case, the bench observed: “You are aggravating the situation. You have to take a pragmatic view of the situation and find practical solutions.”