New Delhi, July 18 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) not to take any coercive step against the former students union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar till Friday (July 20).

The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president was fined by a panel of the university in connection with a 2016 incident in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised at an event.

Justice Rekha Palli's order came while hearing Kumar's plea challenging the university's order which has imposed a fine against him.

As the bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul was on leave, Justice Rekha Palli deferred the matter till Friday for further hearing.

Kumar's plea, filed through advocate Tarannum Cheema and Harsh Bora, has sought quashing of notification issued by high level enquiry of university.

A high-level enquiry found student-activist Umar Khalid, along with Kanhaiya Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, guilty in the February 2016 episode in which a group of students allegedly raised "anti-national" slogans.

It had also recommended rustication of Umar Khalid in connection with the incident, apart from imposing financial penalty on 13 other students for violation of disciplinary norms.

Kumar, a member of Communist Party of India's student wing, was the president of the varsity's student union that year.

The three student-activists were accused -- though none yet chargesheeted by police -- of raising slogans against the integrity of India during a poetry-reading gathering of students at Sabarmati Dhaba inside the JNU campus on February 9, 2016.

Delhi Police arrested Kumar few days after the incident, invoking the sedition law, while Khalid and Bhattacharya, along with three other students, went into hiding

The event was followed by a chain of student protests across India in solidarity with the students, who decried the acts of fabrication of evidence against them and anachronistic character of the sedition law dating back to 1860.

All three are now out on bail.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.