Umar Khalid to take JNU panel's rustication recommendation to court
JNU student Umar Khalid said that he will challenge in court the University panel's recommendation upholding his rustication in connection with a February 9, 2016 incident against Afzal Guru's hanging, during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in campus. Khalid said this is the third time that the administration has come up with a rustication order, which has been twice set aside by courts.
Enquiry a farce, against principle of natural justice: Khalid
"We once again reject this farce of an enquiry... It's against all principles of natural justice, and is riddled with contradictions, lies and malice which will soon be exposed again. We will once again challenge this in court," Khalid said in a Facebook post. He said that they were being "targeted in a systematic and a malafide manner by the enquiry".
BJP and RSS are running administration, claims Khalid
"An administration that has been running at the orders of BJP and RSS, was at no point of time in a position of impartiality for this enquiry. The court has repeatedly found faults with the enquiry process and have vindicated our apprehensions," his post read.
HLEC order targets opposing voices in the student community
This recent order of HLEC (high-level inquiry committee) in JNU is in line with the pattern of the administration's high-handedness and selective targeting of opposing voices in the student community, who, against all odds, have refused to kneel in the face of despotism, Khalid said. He further alleged the panel's recommendations have come up right before they are due to make their final submission.
Enquiry-committee upheld Khalid's rustication, imposed Rs.10,000 fine on Kanhaiya Kumar
The inquiry committee upheld Khalid's rustication and a fine of Rs. 10,000 imposed on Kanhaiya Kumar. The five-member panel had also suspended two more students and imposed financial penalty on 13 others for violation of disciplinary norms. The students had then moved Delhi High Court, which had directed the University to place the matter before an appellate authority to review the panel's decision.
What was the incident?
Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in February 2016 on charges of sedition in connection an event commemorating Afzal Guru's hanging, during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in the campus. Their arrest triggered widespread protests. All three are out on bail.