Laws restricting basic freedoms may be made in the name of public order and national security, but they are often used against dissident voices.
https://thewire.in/rights/as-laws-expand-their-reach-in-india-political-freedoms-shrink
The proposed legislation raises questions about whether colonial laws alone are responsible for the shrinking of democratic freedoms in India, and whether new laws can restore fundamental freedoms of speech, association and dissent to the citizenry.
The state of democratic freedoms in India can be assessed in three ways: comparing the space for civil liberties in colonial and post-colonial laws restricting fundamental freedoms, analysing how these laws have been implemented, and assessing the democratic rights afforded by the proposed legislation.
The justification for laws restricting freedoms relates to concerns around public order and national security, but patterns of implementation suggest the possibility of their political use against dissident voices. This blurs the boundary between criminal offence and legitimate dissent, rendering dissenters as criminals. Only those laws and regulations with a tightly defined scope of criminality will pass the test of democracy.
31/08/2023