JNU student Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on sedition charges
The Delhi High Court pulled up the Delhi Police today while hearing the bail application of Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU student arrested on sedition charges. The Court reserved its order for March 2 after an elaborate hearing today in which it asked the police if what Mr Kumar did justified "the hue and cry."
Here are 10 developments in the story:
The Delhi police accepted that there was no video in which Kanhaiya Kumar can be seen raising slogans and there is no independent witness. The Delhi government supported his bail in court saying there is no proof against him and no innocent should be in jail.
Senior Lawyer Kapil Sibal appeared for Kanhaiya Kumar and argued that there was no sedition. The police had asked for an extension of the JNU Students' Union president's custody to interrogate him more, along with two other students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, who had surrendered last week.
Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested earlier this month for his alleged role in an event held at JNU or Jawaharlal Nehru University on February 9 to mark the anniversary of the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where anti-India slogans were raised.
Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are accused of being the main organisers of the event. They surrendered last Tuesday.
The police have already questioned Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya together. Sources said the police found their statements contradictory.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, appearing for Kanhaiya Kumar, has argued in court that the Delhi Police status report on the case does not say the student raised any anti-national slogan.
The police say in their report that Kanhaiya Kumar is seen in footage that shows a group shouting anti-national slogans during the Afzal Guru event. They also say that he had "actually organised" the event.
The police report also says that some "foreign elements" were present during the event and they had covered their faces to hide their identity.
Mr Kumar had earlier moved the Supreme Court directly for bail, saying that he didn't feel safe going to the lower court or high court. The top court asked him to go to the high court first and not set a "dangerous precedent".
He was attacked when the police took him for his hearing at the Patiala House Court. The lawyers who attacked him were accused of unleashing violence at the court complex on two days.
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