The Delhi government on Wednesday told the Patiala House Court that it needs a month’s time to decide whether to grant sanction to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a sedition case. In response, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat directed the Aam Aadmi Party government to file a proper reply mentioning a definite time frame, PTI reported.

In January, the police had filed a chargesheet naming student activists Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya in the sedition case. The other accused include Kashmiri students Aquib Hussain, Mujeeb Hussain, Muneeb Hussain, Umar Gul, Rayeea Rasool and Bashir Bhat.

On February 6, the police told the court that the sanctions are still pending with the state government. The court had asked the police to get the sanctions by February 28. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said last month that the law department was examining the Delhi Police’s file seeking sanction for prosecution.

Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya were arrested in February 2016 on sedition charges for their involvement in a protest in which several students allegedly shouted “anti-national” slogans. The protest, which was against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, had led to outrage by Hindutva groups.