Protests against student leader’s arrest in India spreads

Supporters of an Indian student leader from a top Indian university are due to march to protest against his arrest on “sedition” charges.

The apex court bench comprising Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said they will hear the plea at 10.30 am on Friday.

An estimated 5,000 people chanting “release Kanhaiya Kumar” and “down with state terrorism” marched through the city centre in one of the biggest student protests India has seen in years. Criticising the Centre for “unleashing oppression on the student community”, they said they can not be the “mouthpiece of such a government”. It is not the government’s job to destroy institutions and push its agenda there. Reportedly, the court lodged him in the high-security Tihar Jail in Delhi.

Quoting the FIR the PTI reported that police had slapped the case of sedition against Kumar on 11 February after obtaining the video clip of the event from the channel. After these incidents, several media outlets were questioning the capability of Delhi Police and whether police can guarantee their safety. If its master says don’t do anything, they won’t do anything. “I have full faith in the Constitution as well as the judiciary of the country”, Kumar told metropolitan magistrate Lovleen when he was produced for remand proceedings.

The clashes took place ahead of a court hearing for Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of the students’ union at the country’s premier Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The lawyers in their report told the SC that the police had miserably failed in their duty to maintain Law and Order in the Patiala House court.

The scuffle started when one group of lawyers started shouting slogans “Bharat Mata Ki Jay” and “Pakistan Murdabad”, while the other group shouted slogans in support of Kumar. The court has asked lawyers to keep calm and not give unnecessary statements to aggravate the situation.

Interestingly, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi defended the torture on student leader, saying the use of “heavy force” against lawyers would have been counter-productive and inappropriate. Despite the Supreme Court’s restrictions on who can be present in the court during his appearance, a group of lawyers assembled inside the complex.

The court adjourned the hearing till 2 p.m.so that a team of lawyers, comprising Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhawan, Dushyant Dave, Ajit Sinha, A.G.N. Rao and Harin Rawal, and could and assess the situation in the Patiala House court complex. Geelani’s 2-day police custody will end today.

The students had also raised slogans supporting Afzal Guru, a convict in the Indian Parliament attack case who was hanged to death in 2013.