JNU sedition case, February 2016

What the government did

1. 11 Feb 2016

   FIRPolice, DelhiShare

   Delhi Police registered FIR No. 110/2016 at PS Vasant Kunj North on 11 February.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   The Delhi High Court's bail order records that the FIR was registered under Section 124-A/34 IPC, and that by the time of the status report the case was under investigation under Sections 124-A/120-B/34/147/149 IPC. The Additional Solicitor General told the court the FIR was registered after raw video footage was obtained from Zee News following its telecast of 10 February. The Wire reported that the case was registered against unknown persons after a complaint by BJP MP Maheish Girri. LiveLaw, summarising the bail petition, gave the sections as 124A/120B IPC and said the FIR was against Kumar and unknown persons. Delhi Police report to the Union Home Ministry, not the Delhi government.

   Legal basis: Section 124A read with Section 34 IPC (as registered); Sections 120B, 147 and 149 IPC added during investigation

   Sources [5][8][1]

2. 12 Feb 2016

   Sedition chargePolice, DelhiShare

   Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on the JNU campus on 12 February, according to The Wire and Al Jazeera, and a Metropolitan Magistrate at Patiala House Courts remanded him to three days' police custody the same day.

   MoreLess · 7 sources

   The LiveLaw summary of his bail petition gives the arrest date as 11 February. The High Court's bail order records that he was remanded to police custody three times, and that he denied making seditious utterances or raising anti-national slogans. On 17 February his judicial custody was extended until 2 March, and he was released from Tihar Jail on 3 March after furnishing the bail bond.

   Legal basis: Section 124A IPC

   Sources [5][8][9][10][11][1][24]

3. 13 Feb 2016

   Commission of inquiryState government, DelhiShare

   On 13 February Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government was directing the District Magistrate to conduct an enquiry, citing competing claims about who shouted the slogans.

   MoreLess · 7 sources

   The inquiry by New Delhi District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar reported on 2 March; PTI reported that it found nothing adverse against Kumar and said Umar Khalid's role needed further investigation. Videos of the event are contested. PTI reported that the inquiry found three of seven videos sent to Truth Labs, Hyderabad, doctored; The Hindu, citing unnamed sources, reported two. The Delhi government later filed a complaint against three news channels over the videos. Delhi Police said the FIR rested on the channel's unedited footage, not the aired clips, and a police source said in June 2016 that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory had found that footage authentic. In the High Court, Kumar's counsel said the footage did not show him raising anti-national slogans, and the order records that the State did not dispute this at that stage.

   • 3 videos of the event found doctored, of seven sent to Truth Labs, Hyderabad, said Magisterial inquiry report (as reported by PTI) [22]
   • 2 videos of the event found manipulated, of seven sent to Truth Labs, Hyderabad, said Unnamed sources (as reported by The Hindu) [21]

   Sources [17][18][21][22][25][23][5]

4. 17 Feb 2016

   OtherCourtShare

   Lawyers, students, journalists and others gathered at Patiala House Courts when Kumar was produced there on 15 February.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   The Supreme Court's order of 17 February records that certain unpleasant and unacceptable incidents were said to have taken place that day. That morning the Court limited entry to the courtroom to named lawyers, family members and five journalists, and directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to maintain law and order. In the afternoon it sent six lawyers, five of them senior advocates, to the court complex after counsel reported violence there. On their report that Kumar was manhandled when produced, the Court directed the Commissioner to take necessary steps for his safety until his next production and said responsibility for his safety was exclusively the Commissioner's. Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi said there was a lot of jostling and no option but to take Kumar through the crowd.

   Court: On 14 November 2017 the Supreme Court dismissed the writ petition (W.P.(Crl.) 25/2016) and a connected contempt petition in terms of a signed order. [7]

   Sources [6][2][9][12]

5. 2 Mar 2016

   OtherCourtShare

   Justice Pratibha Rani of the Delhi High Court granted Kumar interim bail for six months on a personal bond of Rs 10,000, an undertaking not to take part actively or passively in any activity which may be termed anti-national, and one surety, preferably a JNU faculty member.

   MoreLess · 2 sources

   He was barred from leaving the country without the court's permission. The Additional Solicitor General, for the State, opposed bail; the Standing Counsel for the Government of NCT of Delhi submitted that he may be released on bail. The order said the investigation was at a nascent stage and that the thoughts reflected in the slogans could not be claimed to be protected as a fundamental right to free speech.

   Sources [5][1]

6. 14 Jan 2019

   Sedition chargePolice, DelhiShare

   Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and seven Kashmiri students, and mentioned 36 others without naming them as accused for lack of evidence.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   Police said it rested on documentary evidence, CCTV footage and about 90 eyewitness accounts. On 19 January 2019 the Patiala House court refused to take cognizance because the chargesheet was filed without sanction from the Delhi government; police told the court sanction would be obtained within ten days.

   Legal basis: Sections 124A, 143, 147, 149, 120B and 323 IPC (Sections 465 and 471 IPC also appear in the cognizance order)

   • 10 persons named as accused in the chargesheet, said Delhi Police chargesheet (as listed in the cognizance order) [29]
   • 36 others mentioned in the chargesheet but not named as accused, said Delhi Police (as reported by Bar & Bench) [26]
   • about 90 eyewitness accounts relied on, said Delhi Police (as reported by Bar & Bench) [26]

   Sources [26][27][29]

7. 27 Feb 2020

   OtherState government, DelhiShare

   The Home Department of the Delhi government granted sanction to prosecute the accused.

   MoreLess · 2 sources

   The magistrate's cognizance order cites a sanction order dated 27 February 2020. AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said the sanction was given on 20 February after the Law Department gave its opinion, and denied a BJP charge that the government had stalled the case.

   Sources [29][30]

8. 15 Feb 2021

   OtherCourtShare

   The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Patiala House Courts took cognizance of the chargesheet in CC No. 302/2019, noted the Home Department's sanction, and summoned all ten accused to face trial on 15 March 2021.

   MoreLess · 2 sources

   Legal basis: Sections 124A, 323, 465, 471, 143, 147, 149 and 120B IPC

   Sources [29][28]

Outcome

Kanhaiya Kumar was released on interim bail on 3 March 2016. Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against ten accused in January 2019, the Delhi government granted prosecution sanction in February 2020, and a magistrate took cognizance and summoned the accused in February 2021.

Background

Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.

Centre government

BJPNDA, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

State government

AAP in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister

Places

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Patiala House Courts, Tihar Jail

Cause

Campus event on Afzal Guru hanging; later protests against the arrests and sedition charge

Organisers

JNU students; JNU Students' Union; JNU Teachers' Association

Scale

Campus-wide protests at JNU; opposition leaders visited the campus

What they said

Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.

Sources

1. 1Delhi High Court grants interim bail to Kanhaiya Kumar [Read Order]LiveLaw, 2 Mar 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 5 Mar 2016
2. 2SC asks Delhi Police Commissioner to ensure security of Kanhaiya Kumar [Read the Full Order]LiveLaw, Ashok KM, 17 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 18 Feb 2016
3. 3Narendra Modi government bullying JNU, says Rahul GandhiIndia.com, 13 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 14 Feb 2016
4. 4Slogans against nation not acceptable: RijijuThe Free Press Journal, 12 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 14 Dec 2019
5. 5Kanhaiya Kumar v. State of NCT of Delhi, W.P.(Crl.) 558/2016, order of 2 March 2016Delhi High Court (text on Indian Kanoon), 2 Mar 2016T2 CourtArchived 3 Mar 2016
6. 6N.D. Jayaprakash v. Union of India, W.P.(Crl.) 25/2016, record of proceedings of 17 February 2016Supreme Court of India (text on Indian Kanoon), 17 Feb 2016T2 CourtArchived 11 Oct 2026
7. 7N.D. Jayaprakash v. Union of India, W.P.(Crl.) 25/2016, record of proceedings of 14 November 2017Supreme Court of India (text on Indian Kanoon), 14 Nov 2017T2 Court
8. 8Arrest 'Anti India Elements' Says Rajnath, So Police Pin 'Sedition' on JNUSU HeadThe Wire, Jahnavi Sen, 13 Feb 2016T4 Report
9. 9JNU Developments: Kanhaiya Attacked at Court, SC Team Says Police Not Doing Its DutyThe Wire, Jahnavi Sen, 17 Feb 2016T4 Report
10. 10Indian police arrest student leader on sedition chargesAl Jazeera, Ted Regencia, 12 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 8 Dec 2021
11. 11JNU students' union President remanded to 3-day police custodyPTI via The News Minute, 12 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 13 Feb 2016
12. 12Chronology of events of sedition case against KanhaiyaPTI via Deccan Herald, 14 Jan 2019T5 Secondary
13. 13Whatever has happened in JNU is extremely unfortunateRajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh), X, 12 Feb 2016T1 Record
14. 14While Anti-India sentiment is unquestionably unacceptable, the right to dissent & debate is an essential ingredient of democracy (1/2)Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi, then @OfficeOfRG), X, 12 Feb 2016T1 RecordArchived 19 Jul 2025
15. 15Modi Govt & ABVP bullying an institution like JNU simply because it won't toe their line is completely condemnable (2/2)Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi, then @OfficeOfRG), X, 12 Feb 2016T1 RecordArchived 19 Jul 2025
16. 16No one supports anti-national forcesArvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal), X, 12 Feb 2016T1 RecordArchived 19 Jul 2025
17. 17To find truth, Del govt is directing DM to conduct an enquiry(2/2)Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal), X, 13 Feb 2016T1 Record
18. 18There are claims that JNU student leaders shouted anti-India slogans and counter claims that ABVP activists did it(1/2)Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal), X, 13 Feb 2016T1 Record
19. 19Indiscriminate Arrests of JNU Students Condemned (Polit Bureau press statement)Communist Party of India (Marxist), 12 Feb 2016T1 Record
20. 20Hooliganism in Court (Polit Bureau press statement)Communist Party of India (Marxist), 15 Feb 2016T1 Record
21. 21Two of seven JNU videos manipulated, finds forensic probeThe Hindu, 2 Mar 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 28 Jun 2022
22. 22Delhi govt probe gives clean chit to KanhaiyaPTI via The Hindu, 3 Mar 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 18 Apr 2022
23. 23JNU event footage authentic, says reportThe Hindu, Shubhomoy Sikdar, 11 Jun 2016T4 ReportArchived 5 Apr 2019
24. 24Kanhaiya Kumar is out of Tihar, probe gives a clean chitThe Asian Age, Neerja Chowdhury, 4 Mar 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 14 Jul 2018
25. 25Doctored videos controversy: Delhi Police file status reportIANS via Gulf News, 12 Jul 2016T5 Secondary
26. 26Delhi Police files chargesheet against Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya in JNU sedition caseBar & Bench, Aditi, 14 Jan 2019T4 Report
27. 27JNU Sedition Case: Court refuses to take cognisance of Chargesheet filed by Delhi PoliceBar & Bench, Shruti Mahajan, 19 Jan 2019T4 Report
28. 28Delhi Court takes cognizance of chargesheet in JNU sedition case; Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid summoned on March 15 [READ ORDER]Bar & Bench, Aditi, 16 Feb 2021T4 Report
29. 29State v. Kanhaiya Kumar, CC No. 302/2019, FIR No. 110/2016, PS Vasant Kunj North: cognizance order (February 2021)Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts (copy published by Bar & Bench), 15 Feb 2021T2 CourtArchived 5 Dec 2022
30. 30Delhi Arvind Kejriwal govt gives sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar in sedition caseDeccan Herald, Shemin Joy, 28 Feb 2020T4 Report

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