Coming down heavily on the misuse of the sedition law to book people opposing governments, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre if the time has come to do away with the law after 75 years of independence. Questioning the need to retain the colonial era provision the British used to book freedom fighters, the CJI-led bench rued the lack of accountability on part of police officers and governments while slapping sedition charges on people.
Likening the use of sedition law to a carpenter cutting the entire forest with a saw given to him to chop a piece of wood, 3-judge bench led by CJI Justice NV Ramana observed that the on-ground situation is "concerning" as Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is being used by governments to book people speaking up against them. Section 124A of the IPC criminalizes words or "attempts to bring into hatred or contempt" or "disaffection towards the government established by law", and prescribes a prison term as well as a monetary penalty.
Noting that Section 124A of IPC is a colonial era law used by the British to silence freedom fighters and was even used to book Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the apex court pointed out that not only does the law have a very low conviction rate, but also an enormous potential for misuse and acts as a serious threat to the functioning of individuals and groups. Citing Section 66A of IT Act which was used to book people for airing their views before the provision was quashed, the court asked the Centre that why was the sedition law still valid when the government has already repealed many stale and archaic laws.
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General KK Venugopal agreed with the concerns raised by the court, submitting that the court may lay down fresh norms to restrict use of the sedition law only to protect the country and its democratic institutions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that Centre's impending affidavit will ease the court's task, implying that the Union Government is likely to address concerns raised over misuse of the sedition law.
The fresh petition has claimed that with freedom of speech gaining substantial ground, sedition charges can't be slapped for dissent as it violates fundamental rights. Admitting the petition filed by Retired Major General SG Vombatkere against Section 124A of the IPC, the court held that the petition can't be termed as motivated as the petitioner has served for a long time in the Indian armed forces. Issuing a notice to the Centre, the top court clubbed the case with a similar petitions filed earlier, including a plea by the Editors Guild of India. In April, another 3-judge bench of the apex court had sought a reply from the Centre while fixing July 20 as the date of hearing on petitions by two journalists against the legality of the sedition law and the 1962 Kedar Nath verdict which upheld the constitutional provisions.
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