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Pointless pedantry

Bail, not jail” is the standard judicial injunction, unless there are compelling circumstances.

Bail, not jail” is the standard judicial injunction, unless there are compelling circumstances. It must the oddity of the times we live in — nowadays patriotism has become the last refuge of many — that the mundane act of granting bail was sought to be transformed by a Delhi high court judge on Wednesday to revel in pointless pedantry although the available evidence suggests that the accused was charged with the grave crime of “sedition” on a worse than shaky basis by the Delhi police.

JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was given interim bail by the bench of Justice Pratibha Rani on the condition that he wouldn’t “actively or passively” participate in an “anti-national” act. But that’s odd.

After two spells of police custody and heavy investigation, Delhi police have built no case and are close to acknowledging that they had moved on the basis of questionable videos and false statements by interested parties. And yet, the man who was Delhi police commissioner until a few days ago was overcome with jurisprudential foolishness to ask Mr Kumar to prove his innocence, instead of the state seeking to prove his guilt.

Given this background, the judge’s rhetorical foray occasions surprise. Every word in Mr Kumar’s speech to fellow students — for which he was picked up — shows respect for our Constitution and the Indian people, but he can hardly be expected to police the campus, as the judge expects, inasmuch as no upright judge can take guarantee for lawyers or others in the court premises.

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