JNU row: Protests in several cities, Kumar moves SC for bail

Thousands of students in Delhi and several other cities today protested against the arrest of JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar who has directly approached the Supreme Court for bail even as a senior lawyer accused Delhi Police of collusion with his attackers in Patiala House court violence.

Even after two spells of violence in the last two days, the lawyers including Vikram Chauhan who brazenly defied Supreme Court orders to assault Kumar and journalists continued to be free.

The lawyers' body in Delhi district courts virtually came in defence of the attackers in black robes in the Patiala House courts, including Chauhan who was garlanded in Karkardooma courts, to whose bar he belongs.

Claiming that certain "outsiders" in lawyers' robes indulged in violence, the Coordination Committee of all District Court Bar Associations demanded a "fair" inquiry into the incidents.

BJP MLA O P Sharma, who was involved in Monday's violence, was detained by Delhi Police but was bailed out a little later.

The first-time MLA was questioned for around eight hours at the Tilak Marg police station in connection with the case. He was then arrested on charge of causing hurt and was released on bail, a senior police official said.

The Supreme Court, which had stepped in yesterday to ensure law and order in Patiala House court complex, today warned everyone that it was watching the situation and people should be careful about making statements on the issue.

Claiming threat to life in jail and from lynching mobs in the court complex, Kumar made the bail plea before the apex court which will be heard tomorrow. 

Kumar's bail petition was mentioned before a bench of justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre by senior advocate Soli J Sorabjee and Raju Ramachandran who wanted it to be heard today itself saying that he was "manhandled" even while being brought to the court room.

Kumar, who has been arrested on sedition charges, said he is a student and not some hardened criminal and no prejudice would be caused to any one, if he is released on bail.

The 6-member committee of senior lawyers, which rushed to the Patiala House courts to report on yesterday's violence, today submitted its report to the Supreme Court even as Rajeev Dhawan, one of its members, alleged "collusion" between police and the attackers.

The report was submitted in a sealed envelope to the bench of Justice J Chelameswar and Justice A M Sapre but the Delhi Police counsel Ajit K Sinha, who was part of the lawyers team, refused to sign it without reading it.

Protest marches demanding release of Kumar was taken out in Delhi, Patna, Chennai and Hyderabad among other cities.

Amid chanting of 'Vande Mataram' slogans, members of ABVP, the student outfit of RSS, took out marches in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata, demanding action against 'anti-national' elements in Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU)