JNU allows Kanhaiya, Umar, 19 others to register for next semester

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has allowed all 21 students allegedly involved in a controversial event where anti-India slogans were allegedly shouted to register for the next semester. The move came three days after the university issued an order blocking the registration of all the students for the next semester.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has allowed all 21 students, who were allegedly involved in a controversial event commemorating Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, to register for the next semester.

JNU student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid with others protest in front of the administrative block. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

The move came three days after the university issued an order blocking the registration.

The students include union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, who were arrested on charges of sedition over the February 9 event where “anti-India” slogans were allegedly shouted and later released on bail.

“Students have been allowed to complete their registration process before July 26 , the last date...,” JNU registrar Pramod Kumar told HT.

In June, a month after Delhi high court stayed the punishment of the JNU students in connection with the event, the university formed a four-member committee to hear appeals of those who had been found guilty of indiscipline by a probe panel.

Officials said the earlier move to block the registration came as they were expecting a decision from the committee.

“But the final result of the committee will take time so we have decided to allow the registration. Students should not suffer,” Kumar said.

On July 18, a circular bearing the names of the students said: “The registration of the following students should be blocked till further notice.”

The affected students had protested the move, terming it a violation of a court order.

“The vice-chancellor has formed a committee to assist him in his capacity as the appellate authority to hear the appeals from students who had been found guilty by the High Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC) of violating various university rules during the February 9 incident on campus,” an official statement had said.

The HLEC had found 21 people, including two academics from outside the institute guilty of indiscipline. Umar, Anirban and another student, Mujeeb, were rusticated in April. Others were expelled from their hostels or fined.

This was followed by a fortnight-long hunger strike that ended with the Delhi high court asking JNU vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar to decide on the students’ appeals.