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India ‘sedition’ student beaten up in court by lawyers

The move comes after the guidelines issued by the apex court failed to stop violent lawyers who again attacked Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of the students union of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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“The police failure to protect people from violent attacks inside court premises is mystifying”.

The Home Ministry has asked Delhi Police to submit a report today itself detailing the Patiala House court incident.

Kumar, 28, was arrested at a student rally last week held to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of a Kashmiri separatist over his role in an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.

Kumar told the committee of lawyers sent by the Supreme Court to assess the situation in Patiala House Courts complex that he was treated well by the police.

The stern message came at the end of a day-long drama of violence and abuses hurled by men in black robes who took law in their hands for the second day this week when Kumar was brought for remand proceedings before Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen.

After the lower court hearing in the case, a team of senior advocates – Kapil Sibal, Ajit Kumar Sinha, Dushyant Dave, Harin Rawal, Rajeev Dhawan and A.G.N. Rao – appointed by the Supreme Court as court commissioners to inspect the court hearing also visited the court room.

On February 16, the police arrested Geelani for organising an event where “anti-India” slogans were allegedly raised. “By branding people “anti-national” merely for expressing opposing views, the central government and Delhi police are displaying an appalling intolerance for dissent”, Rao said.

On Tuesday, top editors of national media and hundreds of journalists had hit the streets demanding action against those involved in beating up members of their fraternity in the court complex in police presence. After seeing the video, I got to know that some outsiders had entered JNU and along with students they were raising slogans. Stones were thrown at reporters outside the compound. It directed the team and the Delhi High Court Registrar General to file a report by tomorrow when it will take up the matter for urgent hearing.

“I have full faith in the Constitution of the country and I always say that Kashmir is an integral part of India”, Kanhaiya told the court.

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Indian journalists shout slogans during a protest to condemn an assault on fellow media workers by lawyers at a court in New Delhi earlier this week.

Kanhaiya Kumar