End hunger strike, will hear your plea against JNU fine: Delhi HC to Kanhaiya Kumar

Kanhaiya Kumar and other JNU students are on an indefinite hunger strike since April 27 in protest against the fine imposed on them by JNU.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar to call off the hunger strike which he and other students have begun since April 27.

As per ANI, the high court said that it is ready to hear his and other students' plea over fine imposed by the JNU, only if they end the hunger strike.

The high court passed the order while responding to petitions filed by Kanhaiya Kumar and seven other students challenging the JNU's disciplinary action against them based on the inquiry committee’s report.

Students have been protesting against the report and the punishment meted out for a controversial event on campus on February 9.

The JNU administration had on Wednesday appealed to students to end the hunger strike, saying that the matter was still sub-judice.

The Delhi High Court had on Tuesday refused to grant immediate relief to student leaders Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattaracharya from their rustication notices, saying it needed time to consider the case further.

Khalid and Bhattacharya had moved the high court, challenging the probe panel’s decision to suspend them. The same day, JNU formed a a four-member panel to "discuss issues related to students and teachers who have been on hunger strike.

An inquiry commission was set up by the university to look into incidents that led to a major unrest and arrest of a few students in February. The panel found several students, including JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya guilty and imposed fines on them, besides barring students from the university for varying periods of time.