IANS/PTI
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19
The bail plea of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested for sedition, likely to be heard on Monday by the Delhi High Court.
The president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union moved the bail application two days after a lower court sent him to judicial custody till March 2.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court asked his advocate to move the High Court for bail.
The lawyers arrived in the High Court with a huge posse of policemen following the apex court’s directions to the Centre and Delhi Police to ensure proper security arrangements for them on the High Court premises.
Security in and around the High Court was beefed up with the deployment of additional police force and CRPF personnel.
PTI adds
Mr Kumar, who is in judicial custody, had on Thursday approached the apex court directly, seeking bail on the ground that his life was under threat in Tihar Jail. His plea was taken up earlier in the day by the Supreme Court which declined to entertain it saying if it does, it will become a precedent available to all the accused in the country. Mr Kumar was arrested on February 12, 2016 on sedition charge following a controversial event at JNU campus where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.
The student leader was produced in the Court on Wednesday after the end of his police custody, where a group of men in lawyers’ robes unleashed a brazen attack on him and others, including journalists present there.
Mr Kumar had sought the apex court’s intervention, saying no purpose would be served by keeping him in jail and police was finding it difficult to even produce him in court.
More protests break out, lawyers take march in Delhi
NEW DELHI/JAIPUR: Scores of lawyers, including those who defied police summons over the violence in a Delhi court complex, took out a protest march today even as the JNU row sparked clashes between rival student groups in Jaipur and police action in Hyderabad where several people were detained.
In the national capital, the lawyers, mostly from Patiala House and several other district courts, marched vigorously around the India Gate circle, shouting slogans and waving the tricolour, in presence of heavy police security. They were demanding action against those “indulging” in “anti-India” activities.
Some of the lawyers who were caught on camera leading brazen assaults on journalists and JNU students in Patiala House courts, on Monday and Wednesday were part of the protest and appeared to be unfazed by the outrage due to their acts.
Three lawyers have been summoned by Delhi Police in connection with the Monday attack but they are yet to appear before it.
Members of ABVP, a RSS student wing, and Congress’ student wing NSUI clashed during their protests over the JNU row outside Rajasthan University campus in Jaipur.
The groups of students clashed at the main gate of the University. They were holding their respective protests and demonstration on the JNU issue when the incident occurred, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) K Rastradeep said.
Police later dispersed the protestors, the DCP said, adding no one was injured in the incident and the situation was normal now.
“We were protesting to demand that the main accused in the JNU incident should be arrested because there is no evidence against the JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar,” NSUI leader Rakesh Meena said.
“We were also demanding action against BJP MLA Kailash Choudhary who made derogatory remarks against (Congress vice president) Rahul Gandhi when the ABVP activists clashed with us,” Meena, who led the NSUI protest, said.
At least 52 activists of CPI and other Left wing organisations were taken into preventive custody when they tried to march towards Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad demanding Kumar’s immediate and unconditional release, police said.
Similarly, police took 10 advocates (from two different groups) into preventive custody when they tried to gather in front of the Bar Council Office over the JNU row, on the premises of High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Charminar Division) K Ashok Chakravarthy told PTI.
“Out of the ten advocates, who were taken into custody-- three of them are pro-Kanhaiya and remaining are anti- Kanhaiya,” the ACP said, adding there is no permission either for holding procession or organising meeting on the High Court premises.
Several CPI and Left-wing activists led by Telangana state CPI secretary Chada Venkat Reddy raising slogans attempted to take out a rally towards Raj Bhavan but were prevented by police on Khairtabad cross itself and 52 of them were placed under preventive arrests, Saifabad Police Station Inspector K Poorna Chander said.
All those who were taken into preventive custody were later released.
Protests and sloganeering by Jadavpur University students notwithstanding, its Vice Chancellor Suranjan Das today said the varsity would not file FIR against any student as it has always stood for freedom of expression, freedom of speech and autonomy.
“JU has always stood for freedom of expression, freedom of speech as well as for autonomy and we will solve the problem through discussion... That has been JU’s tradition... There is no tradition in JU to file FIRs against students and we maintain it,” he said after a meeting with West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.
“JU has a particular tradition... To ensure that the university remains a place for debate, a place for discussion and a place for deliberation and we will maintain that tradition. Whatever steps we need to take to address the issues we will take them in accordance to the university rules and regulations and conventions,” Das said.
Tripathi had sought a report on the anti-India sloganeering inside JU campus.
Slogans in favour of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru were raised on Wednesday at a rally brought out by JU students to express solidarity with their JNU counterparts agitating against the arrest of their leader Kanhaiya Kumar for alleged sedition.
Slogans like “Afzal bole azadi, Geelani bole azadi” and “Cheenke ke lenge azadi” were raised. Other slogans like “Freedom from RSS, freedom from Modi government”, “Jab Kashmir ne maangi azadi, Manipur bhi boli azadi” were also raised.
On the meeting with the Governor, who is also the university chancellor, Das said Tripathi has asked for a report and the University administration would have an executive council meeting on Monday.
“The Chancellor has asked me to send a report on the points he has mentioned. On Monday we will have an executive council meeting where we will discuss those matters,” he said.
