This article was written by Ankita Sharma, a student of Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
Nowadays you must be hearing the word Sedition. It is a great matter of concern that a large number of cases have been filed against people for protesting. According to the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that 194 cases of sedition have been filed since the CAA was passed on December 11, 2019. Laws are not meant to scare people and don’t allow them to take a stand.
Sedition is an offence which is in our Indian Penal Code(IPC) 1860 since pre-independence because at that time Britishers wished to penalise anyone who is acting against them and this was used against our freedom fighters, Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak both were tried under this law and the biggest irony is that we are still having that law and it is being utilized to frighten the citizens.The constitution of India, 1950 gives its citizens the basic fundamental rights one of them is Right to Freedom of speech and expression granted under Article 19(1)(a); but this right is not absolute it comes with many restrictions in specific situations such as prevention of defamation of another person, maintenance of public order and decency, protection of the integrity of the nation, etc. which are mentioned in Article 19(2). One of the cases where the ‘Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression’ can be restricted is Sedition.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines sedition (Section 124A):
An offence committed when “any person by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India”.
The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.
Comments expressing disapproval of the measures of the Government with a view to obtaining their modification by lawful means, without rousing or attempting to rouse hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.
Comments expressing disapproval of the administrative or other action of the Government without rousing or attempting to rouse hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.
Sedition under IPC is considered to be a high-value crime which is against the sovereignty of the country.
Punishment for Sedition:
- As given under Section 124A of the IPC, a person convicted of sedition is punishable with either imprisonment ranging from 3 years to a lifetime, a fine, or both.
- Sedition is a cognisable offence, which means the police can arrest a person chargedwith sedition without being issued a warrant for the same.
- Sedition is a non-bailable offence, which means a person taken into custody for sedition cannot be released on bail by the police as a matter of his right. The said person has to apply forbail before a court or a magistrate.
- Sedition is a non-compoundable offence, which means it cannot be resolved with a settlement between the accused and the victim.
This law is considered to be essential to protect and persevere the stability of the government and to protect the public disorder due to hate speeches. This law also punishes the rebel group like- Maoists that create insurgencies and hostile conditions in the country. They want to overthrow the government for their personal interests.
The government of India is an official authority in the constitution and is established by the law. So, there has to be certain limits for unnecessary contempt or ridiculing the Government.
If Section 124A, as read by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962), is
“A citizen has a right to say or write whatever he likes about the Government, or its measures, by way of criticism or comment, so long as he does not incite people to violence against the Government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder. The Court, has, therefore, the duty cast upon it of drawing a clear line of demarcation between the ambit of a citizen’s fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the power of the legislature to impose reasonable restrictions on that guaranteed right in the interest of, inter alia, the security of the State and public order.”
The Supreme Court in its interpretation of Section 124A asserts that it has to be against the state, not the government. One can criticise the government, one can criticize the communist parties, one can criticize the Mamta Banerjee, this doesn’t come under the ambit of sedition, it is when one start criticising the constitutional state of India then one will be committing the offence of Sedition and there has to be direct incitement to violence.
It is a serious offence and nowadays it has been used to bully and to silent the citizens. The recent case in Bidar, Karnataka where a parent and the principal were charged with the sedition for staging a play critical of the CAA. We saw the way it was misused, bullied and terrorized the small children and a young woman. There have been many cases like this where the government is bullying and terrorizing its own citizens.
This law has become a handy tool and is being misused for elevating ordinary or political dissent into anti-national insurrection. If one is criticizing the policies of the government that doesn’t make him the anti-nationalist, he is not challenging the constitutional scheme of India, if he does so then he should be punished for sedition.
In 1979, India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which ascribes internationally recognized standards for the protection of freedom of expression. However, misuse of sedition and arbitrary slapping of charges are not consistent with India’s international commitments.
It’s high time when Judiciary needs to set-up and reassure the citizens that their Fundamental Right: Right to Freedom of speech and expression is protected. The law of sedition can’t be misused.
India is the largest Democracy in the world and the right to freedom of speech and expression is the most important element of democracy. If the expression and thought is not in agreement with the government policy it should not amount to Sedition. Sedition is a very sensitive topic, there should to be a balance between the right to freedom of expression and speech and the law of sedition. If the country is not open to positive criticism then there will be no difference between the pre- and post-independence eras.
Should the Sedition law be scrapped?
This article was written by Ankita Sharma, a student of Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
Nowadays you must be hearing the word Sedition. It is a great matter of concern that a large number of cases have been filed against people for protesting. According to the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that 194 cases of sedition have been filed since the CAA was passed on December 11, 2019. Laws are not meant to scare people and don’t allow them to take a stand.
Sedition is an offence which is in our Indian Penal Code(IPC) 1860 since pre-independence because at that time Britishers wished to penalise anyone who is acting against them and this was used against our freedom fighters, Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak both were tried under this law and the biggest irony is that we are still having that law and it is being utilized to frighten the citizens.The constitution of India, 1950 gives its citizens the basic fundamental rights one of them is Right to Freedom of speech and expression granted under Article 19(1)(a); but this right is not absolute it comes with many restrictions in specific situations such as prevention of defamation of another person, maintenance of public order and decency, protection of the integrity of the nation, etc. which are mentioned in Article 19(2). One of the cases where the ‘Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression’ can be restricted is Sedition.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines sedition (Section 124A):
An offence committed when “any person by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India”.
The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.
Comments expressing disapproval of the measures of the Government with a view to obtaining their modification by lawful means, without rousing or attempting to rouse hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.
Comments expressing disapproval of the administrative or other action of the Government without rousing or attempting to rouse hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.
Sedition under IPC is considered to be a high-value crime which is against the sovereignty of the country.
Punishment for Sedition:
This law is considered to be essential to protect and persevere the stability of the government and to protect the public disorder due to hate speeches. This law also punishes the rebel group like- Maoists that create insurgencies and hostile conditions in the country. They want to overthrow the government for their personal interests.
The government of India is an official authority in the constitution and is established by the law. So, there has to be certain limits for unnecessary contempt or ridiculing the Government.
If Section 124A, as read by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962), is
“A citizen has a right to say or write whatever he likes about the Government, or its measures, by way of criticism or comment, so long as he does not incite people to violence against the Government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder. The Court, has, therefore, the duty cast upon it of drawing a clear line of demarcation between the ambit of a citizen’s fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the power of the legislature to impose reasonable restrictions on that guaranteed right in the interest of, inter alia, the security of the State and public order.”
The Supreme Court in its interpretation of Section 124A asserts that it has to be against the state, not the government. One can criticise the government, one can criticize the communist parties, one can criticize the Mamta Banerjee, this doesn’t come under the ambit of sedition, it is when one start criticising the constitutional state of India then one will be committing the offence of Sedition and there has to be direct incitement to violence.
It is a serious offence and nowadays it has been used to bully and to silent the citizens. The recent case in Bidar, Karnataka where a parent and the principal were charged with the sedition for staging a play critical of the CAA. We saw the way it was misused, bullied and terrorized the small children and a young woman. There have been many cases like this where the government is bullying and terrorizing its own citizens.
This law has become a handy tool and is being misused for elevating ordinary or political dissent into anti-national insurrection. If one is criticizing the policies of the government that doesn’t make him the anti-nationalist, he is not challenging the constitutional scheme of India, if he does so then he should be punished for sedition.
In 1979, India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which ascribes internationally recognized standards for the protection of freedom of expression. However, misuse of sedition and arbitrary slapping of charges are not consistent with India’s international commitments.
It’s high time when Judiciary needs to set-up and reassure the citizens that their Fundamental Right: Right to Freedom of speech and expression is protected. The law of sedition can’t be misused.
India is the largest Democracy in the world and the right to freedom of speech and expression is the most important element of democracy. If the expression and thought is not in agreement with the government policy it should not amount to Sedition. Sedition is a very sensitive topic, there should to be a balance between the right to freedom of expression and speech and the law of sedition. If the country is not open to positive criticism then there will be no difference between the pre- and post-independence eras.
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