Supreme Court lawyer Ajay Agarwal has written a letter to Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal over media reports claiming that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has rejected a request for sanction by Delhi Police to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the JNU sedition case.
Agarwal, who contested against Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, requested Baijal to call for the files in the connection, as the power to give or refuse sanction of prosecution should not come under the preview of the Delhi government.
Agarwal in his letter stated that the subject of 'Law & Order' of National Capital Territory of Delhi is with the Union Home Ministry and elected Government of NCT of Delhi has no control on Delhi Police. Therefore, the power to give or refuse sanction of prosecution should not come under the preview of the Home Minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi.
Letter further states that, when a government which has no control on the police and Delhi Police Commissioner directly reports to Union Home Ministry and the Lieutenant-Governor, and not to the Home Minister of Delhi, then the power of sanction of prosecution should vest in Lieutenant Governor and not in the Home Minister of Delhi.
Therefore, you are requested to call the file relating to the sanction of prosecution of former JNU Students Union president, Kanhaiya Kumar, and nine others in sedition case and take appropriate decision in the matter and further direct the Delhi Police Commissioner to send all the files pertaining to any such sanction of prosecution cases, Agarwal stated.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday refuted media reports which claimed that the Delhi government has rejected a request for sanction by Delhi Police to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the JNU sedition case. "I have been told that no decision has been taken so far in the case. News that's being spread is just a speculation," he said at a press conference here.
His clarification came after media reports emerged claiming that Delhi government has rejected the request to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others who were accused of sedition.
On July 23 this year, Delhi Police was granted time till September 18 to obtain the requisite sanction in the JNU sedition case.
The police in its charge sheet filed in January this year had contended that there were videos wherein Kumar could be seen on February 9, 2016 "leading the students who were raising anti-national slogans" in the JNU campus and that he had been identified by witnesses.
The police have charged Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya with raising 'anti-national slogans' during an event, which was organised to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
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