Civil Liberties

Genesis of Section 124A https://countercurrents.org/2022/06/understanding-sedition/

The so-called Great Indian Rebellion, also called the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny by the British, happened during the rule of the English East India Company. This upset the British Parliament sufficiently, to cause the ruling British monarch Queen Victoria, to issue a proclamation in 1858 that India would be governed by and in the name of “the Crown”. Thereby, the British Territory of India and the British Government of India, were both embodied in the ruling British Monarch. Every Indian had the political status of being a subject of the ruling British Monarch.

The British used Sedition law primarily to suppress writings, speeches and protests of prominent Indian nationalists and freedom fighters, howsoever they expressed dissent with British colonial rule. Thus, Section 124A was all about British control over Indian subjects. The British used surveillance and police intelligence agencies to detect, trace and punish what they saw as incitement to rebellion against British rule.

Eminent lawyer K.M.Munshi, who was also a member of the Drafting Committee, spoke [7:64:164 & 7:64:167]: “… the word ‘sedition’ is of doubtful and varying import … it is an equivocal word”. Munshi argued that the word “sedition” should be removed from the Draft Constitution, because “… it is a word which has created considerable doubt in the minds of not only members of this House, but of Courts of Law all over the world”. He also spoke that sedition “… was sometimes so widely construed”  that criticism of a District Magistrate was considered as sedition, and presciently said:“… sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of government”, and “… now that we have a democratic government, a line must be drawn between criticism of a government which should be welcome, and incitement which would undermine the security or order on which civilised life is based, or which is calculated to overthrow the State”.

by S G Vombatkere

18/06/2022

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Sedition: Hold the celebrations. We need repeal, not just relief  Apar Gupta in Voices, India May 14, 2022, 9:17 PM IST 

The Law Commission of India in a consultation paper in August 2018 said that, “the global trend has largely been against sedition and in favour of free speech”. However, this paper did not result in a report, and no further reports followed as the Union government has failed to constitute it since the retirement of its chairperson Justice B S Chauhan. Subsequently, a committee was established by the ministry of home affairs in May 2020 to recommend reforms to Indian criminal law. While the committee has attempted to invite public feedback and has also made recommendations as reported in the press, concerns have been expressed on bypassing the institutional processes of the Law Commission of India.

an amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 (UAPA) that permits even individuals, not just groups, to be designated as terrorist. UAPA is being abused frequently in criminal cases being bunched alongside sedition. The second and much more recent law is the Criminal Procedure Identification Act, 2022 which expands police powers of surveillance.

the incremental relief provided by the court. We must welcome it with caution and criticality but remember it is incomplete. This relief will completely fail if sedition is not struck off our statute books by the legislature, failing which by the Supreme Court, in a timely manner. This is important for protecting the democratic rights of every Indian internet user.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/times-fact-check  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/mumbai-film-director-charged-with-spreading-false-news/articleshow/91569692.cms

Ahmedabad crime branch on Saturday filed a case of forgery against a Mumbai-based film director Avinash Das for allegedly spreading a false news (may 8.)  

 https://www.jantakareporter.com/entertainment/ias-officer-pooja-singhal-met-amit-shah-days-before-ed-raids-truth-behind-viral-claim/397008/ The photo in question was taken in 2017 when Amit Shah visited Jharkhand to function billed as Gharib Kalyan Mela,when she wa agriculture secretary. ( But 

He was also charged with insulting the national honour as he had earlier ( post of Mar  17) shared an alleged obscene picture of a woman with the tricolour.

Das was three years ago booked by Uttar Pradesh police for showing a picture of UP CM Yogi Adityanath with cows claiming that he wanted to save the cows not the girls.

Jharkhand की IAS अफसर Pooja Singhal सहित सत्ता के करीबी लोगों के देशभर में 20 ठिकानों पर छापे.. May 6, 2022 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gegwjSckbvg from HD News   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXu031YDwofSCxBMjlB_U5A

Sedition Law under Consideration | The Week That Wasn't with Cyrus Broacha https://youtu.be/--xZRfzDJ5E?t=298