JNU panel upholds punishment for Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid in sedition row

NEW DELHI: The high-level inquiry commitee of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday upheld the rustication of its student Umar Khalid for violating disciplinary norms and participating in pro-Afzal sloganeering at an event held in the college campus on February 9, 2016.

JNU leader-turned-politician Kanhaiya Kumar’s fine of Rs 10,000 too, over the same incident was upheld too. Umar Khalid had also been fined Rs 20,000. Both Kanhaiya and Umar are PhD scholars at JNU. The students had then moved the Delhi High Court, which had directed the university to place the matter before an appellate authority to review the panel’s decision.

The four-member panel comprising Professor Vibha Tandon of Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Professor Priyadarsi Mukherji of Centre for

Chinese and South East Asian Studies, Assistant Professor Krishnendra Meena of Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD) and Assistant Professor M Qutbuddin of Centre of Arabic and African Studies and was set up by JNU Vice Chancellor Jagdeesh Kumar in June 2016.

Mujeeb Gattoo and Anirban Bhattacharya were also rusticated along with Khalid.

While Mujeeb was rusticated for 2 semesters, Anirban got rusticated till July 15, 2016, and was barred from pursuing any course in the university for next 5 years. The rustication orders will be in effect from July 9, officials in the JNU administration said. The university also prohibited student Ashutosh’s entry into the JNU hostel for one year.