JNU row: Delhi Court seeks status report from police

A Delhi court today sought status report from police on the probe in a sedition case against JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and others for deciding the maintainability of AAP government’s separate plea seeking action against some media houses.

The court’s direction came while hearing a complaint filed by Delhi government seeking prosecution of three news channels for allegedly showing “doctored” videos related to a controversial event held inside JNU campus on February 9 where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. The court also refused stay the proceedings in the matter on an application filed by the editor-in-chief of a news channel.

It had sought the stay on proceedings of Delhi government’s present complaint, claiming that the same video is the “subject matter” in the main FIR lodged on February 11 in the JNU protest at Vasant Kunj North police station as well.

It claimed that the Delhi police is already probing the matter and it will decide whether the video was doctored and, therefore, the current complaint filed by the Delhi government should be stayed.

However, senior advocate Hariharan, appearing for Delhi government, told the court that the subject matter in this matter is entirely different from the one in the main FIR registered in the sedition case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sumit Dass  refused to stay the proceedings in the present complaint and fixed the matter for further hearing on July 12.

“I am not staying the proceedings as much as I am calling a status report from Delhi Police Special Cell,” the CMM said. The court had earlier fixed the matter for today for consideration of Delhi government’s complaint in which it was said the channels reported about clash between students groups at JNU and showed footage of the incident which happened at the university campus on February 9. The court is yet to pass any order on the government’s complaint.

The government’s counsel had said the video was inaudible so the channels had showed a bubble on the screen with an alleged text “Pakistan Zindabad” and the the anchor/reporter suggested that such anti-national slogans were being shouted by the JNU students which would not be tolerated by the country.