Supreme Court rejects plea by BJP leader for sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar in 2016 sedition case

The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea filed by BJP leader Nand Kishore Garg seeking directions to the Delhi government to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar in relation to the 2016 sedition case..The plea had prayed for comprehensive guidelines to be laid down by the Court for ensuring that sanction is granted for prosecution in serious criminal matters. .Citing the case concerning allegations against Kanhaiya Kumar, the petitioner had stated that the sanction to prosecute in that case was yet to be granted..Dismissing the plea, the Bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant said,"Such general prayers cannot be entertained.".The Court further also stated that such orders can be passed only on a case to case basis..Apart from Kanhaiya Kumar, the chargesheet has named students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, and seven others for allegedly raising “anti-national” slogans at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on February 2, 2016..They are booked for commission of offences under Sections 124A,143,147,149,120B and 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..Kanhaiya was granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court in the matter in March 2016, almost three weeks after being arrested on charges of sedition. Soon after, an Additional Sessions Judge granted interim bail to Khalid and Bhattacharya in the case..In December last year. the Delhi High Court had declined to entertain Garg's plea to direct the Delhi Government to grant sanction in the JNU sedition matter. The High Court rejected the PIL, stating that the issue of grant of sanction has to be decided by the Delhi government in accordance with the existing laws.