Key Takeaways
- A 60-year-old Constitution Bench judgement validating sedition law led a three judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Thursday to pause to examine if petitions challenging the colonial provision should be referred to a larger Bench of five or seven judges of the court
What is Sedition law?
- Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with sedition, was drafted by Thomas Babington Macaulay and included in the IPC in 1870
What does Section 124A state?
- Sedition is defined in Section 124A of the IPC as any speech or writing, or form of visible representation, which brings the government either into contempt or hatred or may excite disaffection towards the government or attempts to do so.
Colonial origin of Section 124A
- 1837: The law of sedition was first introduced in clause 113 of Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Draft IPC in 1837.
- 1860: IPC was finally enacted after a 20-year delay in 1860, the section pertaining to sedition was mysteriously omitted
- 1870: The necessity of introducing the law of sedition was first recognised by the British after the revolt of 1857 in light of the increased incidents of mutiny against the British up until 1870.
- November 25, 1870: As a result, the law of sedition was incorporated under Section 124A of the IPC
- 1898: The IPC (Amendment) Act, 1898 amended Section 124A, making the effort of bringing or attempting to bring hatred or contempt (besides disaffection) towards the established government punishable.
Colonial sedition in independent India
- After independence, the term “sedition” was removed from the constitution in 1948, following discussions in the constituent assembly which was adopted on November 26, 1949.
- Thus, Article 19(1) (a) gave absolute freedom of speech and expression. However, section 124A continued to remain in the IPC.
- In 1950, two Supreme Court decisions prompted the government to enact the first amendment to the constitution of India in 1951.In both these cases the Supreme Court ruled against the government, stating that public order is not an enumerated exception to the right to free speech.
- 1951: Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the first amendment, empowering the state to impose “reasonable restrictions” on free speech.
- 1973: section 124A became a cognizable offence for the first time in Indian history by the Indira Gandhi administration under the new Code of Criminal Procedure. It authorised the police to make arrests without a warrant under Section 124A.
Cases Related to Sedition in India
- The Queen-Empress vs. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1897)
- Tilak’s writings, according to the administration, had led to the killing of two British officials. In 1897, he was awarded an 18-month prison sentence.
- Lokmanya Tilak’s Sedition Trial (1908)
- He was convicted and released on bail in 1898 for the first sedition , and in 1909 prosecuted again for seditious writing in his newspaper Kesari.
- Sedition Trial of Mahatma Gandhi (1922)
- In 1922 Mahatma Gandhi wrote three articles for Young India which resulted in sedition charges against him and he was jailed for six years. However, Gandhi did not object to the verdict
- “Bringing or attempting to stir dissension against His Majesty’s Government established by law in British India” was one of the charges levelled against him.
- Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962):
- the constitutionality of Section 124A was challenged.
- A member of the Forward Bloc was charged with sedition after making a speech.
- The Supreme Court ruled that no crime of sedition is established under Section 124-A unless the remarks, said or written, have the potential to cause disruption or disturbance of public order through the use of violence, thereby overruling the decision of the Allahabad High Court.
- Balwant Singh And Anr vs State Of Punjab (1995) :
- On the day of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Balwant Singh, the Director of Public Instructions (DPI) in Punjab, Chandigarh, and other cities, was accused of shouting pro-Khalistan slogans.
- Supreme court ruled that this did not constitute sedition because there was no evidence or record that any violence occurred despite the slogans being raised in a public place.
- Kanhaiya Kumar vs State of NCT (2016)
- Kanhaiya Kumar, a Student Union Leader of the JNU and was arrested on Sedition charges as few videos surfaced about seditious slogans.
- However, the allegations were proven wrong as the videos were doctored
Problems with sedition law
- Section 124A is a relic of colonial legacy and unsuited in a democracy. It is a constraint on the legitimate exercise of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and expression.
- The British, who introduced sedition to oppress Indians, have themselves abolished the law in their country. There is no reason why India should not abolish this section.
- The terms used under Section 124A like ‘disaffection’ are vague and subject to different interpretations to the whims and fancies of the investigating officers.
- The sedition law is misused as a tool to persecute political dissent
Arguments in favour of sedition law
- Help in combating anti-national, secessionist and terrorist elements.
- It protects the elected government from attempts to overthrow the government with violence and illegal means.
- Many of the Indian states face a maoist insurgency and rebel groups. These groups openly advocate the overthrow of the state government
Pic Courtesy: freepik
Content Source – The Hindu