JNU students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar released from jail

JNU students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar released from jail

Hindustan Times

Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, whose arrest on sedition charges sparked a nationwide debate over free speech, was on Thursday released on bail for six months.

The Delhi high court had on Wednesday approved Kumar’s bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and asked him to cooperate in investigations into allegations that he had delivered a seditious speech during an event to commemorate the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The court said a university faculty member would have to become a guarantor for the PhD student who was arrested on February 12.

Along with him, police had also accused two other students -- Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya -- of allegedly shouting anti-India slogans. They surrendered late last month. Khalid and Bhattacharya were remanded to 14-day judicial custody on Tuesday.

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The arrest of the students has reignited a debate over free speech in a country where supporters of the ruling BJP government have cast themselves as champions of patriotism and sought to stamp out dissent.

Kumar’s arrest and subsequent events, including being assaulted by lawyers in Delhi’s Patiala House Court complex, sparked outrage across the nation, pitting the ruling BJP against the Opposition. Universities across India also joined in protests against his arrest.

The controversy has also dredged up concerns about the colonial-era sedition law, with many demanding it to be struck down. Political rivals also made a rare, united stand against the Centre, with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat sharing a stage.