The High-Level Enquiry Committee set up by the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration, to probe the incidents of February 9, 2016 that led to three students being charged with sedition, came out with its decisions yesterday.

JNU Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, who was in judicial custody for over 22 days, has been fined Rs 10,000. While this is a hefty sum, Kumar may have got off lightly in comparison to the others caught in the HLEC’s radar. At least Kumar has been spared from rustication, unlike Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya. Both have been rusticated for one semester. Khalid has also been mandated to pay a fine of Rs 20,000. Bhattacharya has been declared “out of bounds” for five years with effect from July 23.

The committee’s decision does not end here. One more student (Mujeeb Gattoo) has been rusticated, two have been ordered to be removed from the hostel, financial penalties have been levied against 14, and two ex-students have been declared out of bounds of the campus. One of these ex-students is Dhrupadi Ghosh, a researcher at Jamia Milia Islamia. Her name not mentioned in the varsity probe committee report, even though the HLEC has barred her from entering JNU. Among the students who have been fined are JNUSU general secretary Rama Naga, former vice-president Anant Narayan, former general secretary Chintu Kumari and student representatives Aishwarya Adhikari and Gargi Adhikari.

Newslaundry contacted Anirban Bhattacharya, who said, “None of the students have received the order directly. I haven’t seen the order myself. The committee released the order directly to the media. Whatever information I have is through sources and social media as well.” Bhattacharya and Khalid were in custody when the committee was probing the incident that led to their arrest.

As per the copy of Bhattacharya and Khalid’s orders, the committee’s recommendations are based on several charges including “not following university procedures”, “providing misinformation to the university”, “misconduct and indiscipline”, “arousing communal, caste or regional feelings and creating disharmony among students”.

The media representative of the JNUSU President told Newslaundry that as per the decision of the general body meeting, this committee’s recommendation must be rejected and was “simply unacceptable.”

Sources at JNU told Newslaundry about a statement issued by Shehla Rashid, JNUSU Vice President, condemning the enquiry report and subsequent orders. “We completely reject this farcical enquiry report, as it is based on sheer vendetta and a biased enquiry,” the statement read. “These are all innocent students, coming from extremely humble and underprivileged backgrounds. They are all dedicated activists and this is a conspiracy to crush anti-government voices.”

Later at night, Kanhaiya also tweeted out his official response to the order, “rejecting the punishment.”