Fighting broke out on Wednesday around an Indian court hearing a case against a student union leader accused of sedition, a charge that has sparked protests across university campuses and criticism the government was curtailing free speech. Kanhaiya Kumar, head of the student union at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was rushed from a car through a gate into the court by police officers protecting him with a riot shield. He was later remanded in custody by the court until March 2. Lawyers chanting nationalist slogans earlier barged into the compound and threw stones at reporters outside, in defiance of an earlier Supreme Court order banning protests after there was a punch-up at a hearing on Monday. Wednesday's remand hearing was temporarily adjourned as the Supreme Court rushed a team of commissioners to investigate reports that Kumar had been beaten up inside the Patiala courthouse in New Delhi. Kumar, 28, was arrested at a student rally last week held to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of a Kashmiri separatist over his role in an attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. His supporters deny he made any incendiary remarks. Meanwhile, Delhi police carried out fresh raids in several Indian cities on Wednesday as they stepped up a search for students in a controversial sedition case after the arrest of a student leader that has sparked mass protests. Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans at a rally called to protest against a Kashmiri separatist's execution three years ago. The arrest of the student union leader has reignited a row over freedom of expression in India, where some rights campaigners say the Hindu nationalist government is using the British-era sedition law to clamp down on dissent. Delhi police chief B.S. Bassi said his officers were searching for other students who took part in the rally at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital. "Many people participated in the rally that day. We have identified the ring leaders and a search is on to find them. I am confident they will be arrested soon," Bassi, who has defended Kumar's arrest, said. Police sources said raids were taking place on premises in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, where separatist violence has simmered for decades. Hundreds of police were deployed at a Delhi court where Kumar was set to appear after violence broke out there on Monday, with students, academics and journalists attacked when they turned out to see him. The Congress opposition party has blamed supporters of the ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being behind the unrest. Riot police and water cannons were deployed on Wednesday as a precaution, as groups supporting and opposing Kumar again converged on the complex. There were chaotic scenes outside the court, with television footage showing lawyers pushing and shoving, some of them carrying Indian flags, and reports of stones being thrown at journalists. The Supreme Court judges had earlier condemned Monday's violence and directed the Delhi police to ensure the safety and security of those in the lower court. Kumar denies he was among those chanting anti-India slogans at last Tuesday's rally to mark the 2013 hanging of Kashmiri separatist Mohammed Afzal Guru over a deadly 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. Protests against Guru's execution have regularly been held in Kashmir, where many believe he was not given a fair trial. Guru always denied plotting the attack, which was carried out by Kashmiri militants. Sedition, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, has been used in the past against supporters of independence for the disputed territory of Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both. Hundreds of teachers went on strike at JNU on Tuesday, while many students said they will boycott classes until Kumar is released, after staging major protests against his arrest in recent days. Late on Tuesday, students at Jadavpur University in eastern Kolkata carried out a protest march on the streets, raising anti-India slogans. — Agencies
