NEW DELHI: Amid demands from teachers and students that the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration should seek students union president Kanhaiya Kumar's release and drop sedition charges him, the varsity today said both issues are beyond its control.
"We have not arrested Kanhaiya. We have not charged anyone with sedition. It is for the police and the court to take a call in this matter," JNU registrar Bhupinder Zutshi said.
JNU students and teachers yesterday appealed to vice-chancellor (VC) Jagadesh Kumar to take a stand in favour of the five students who are being charged with sedition and surfaced on campus after being on the run for over 10 days.
A meeting of top JNU officials, chaired by the VC yesterday, deliberated on the return of the five students but could not take a decision whether the police should be allowed to enter the campus to arrest them or whether the students should be asked to surrender.
"Police have not approached us so far for any permission to enter the campus for arrest of these students. Neither have we approached them," Zutshi said.
The five students -- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, JNUSU general secretary Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash -- had gone missing from the campus since February 12 after Kanhaiya was arrested for allegedly raising anti-India slogans in a controversial event on campus.
Yesterday they refused to surrender, but said they are ready to be arrested. But police officials did not enter the campus and kept their team waiting outside the varsity premises for permission from the VC.