In an important observation, Karnataka High Court judge Justice G Narendar on 16 April, while hearing the case of sedition against three Kashmiri students, said that “prima facie, the complaint does not disclose any material which could be considered as an ingredient constituting the offence as against the petitioners”.

Just over 3 months ago, on 15 February, three undergraduate students of KLE Institute of Technology were arrested from their college campus on charges of sedition, for allegedly filming and circulating a video of themselves chanting ‘pro-Pakistan slogans’ in their hostel rooms on the anniversary of the Pulwama attack,

The students were booked under provisions for hate speech (Sections 153A, 153B and 505 of the IPC) as well as sedition (Section 124A) for the video.

Their application for bail was rejected most recently by a Hubballi court on 9 March, which has been challenged in the Karnataka High Court. Despite making these observations, Justice G Narendar has not yet accepted their bail plea, and has listed the case for hearing next on 24 April, giving the state one last chance to respond.