Sedition 124A
https://thewire.in/law/sedition-free-speech-law-commission-supreme-court
The 22nd Law Commission of India recently submitted its final report (“Usage of the Law of Sedition”) on the constitutionality of section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. Law Commission reports exert considerable influence on both the government and the Supreme Court and, given that the provision’s constitutionality is pending, it is important to closely read a document that will likely form an important part of any future judgement on the matter.
The report walks the reader through sedition law’s history in India, the Law Commission’s previous reports that discussed the law, Constituent Assembly debates, and the courts’ public-order jurisprudence. After discussing the threats to India’s security and the law’s “alleged” misuse (the Commission passes the buck onto the police instead of the “political class,” as if the police are an autonomous body) and undertaking a wide-ranging comparative survey of sedition law in diverse jurisdictions (the UK, US, Australia, and Canada!), the report concludes with why the law should be retained on the books.
It adds a series of recommendations that ignore the Supreme Court’s post-Kedar Nath jurisprudence, set out vague procedural guidelines, and increase the punishment for the offence.
05/06/2023
The 22nd Law Commission of India headed by former Chief Justice of Karnataka high court Ritu Raj Awasthi has argued against repealing the controversial sedition law, instead saying it should be retained with certain changes.
https://thewire.in/law/law-commission-says-sedition-law-should-stay-recommends-increased-punishment
The Commission has recommended that the scheme of punishment under the law should be increased. At the moment, the punished prescribed is imprisonment up to three years or a fine. The report now says this should be increased to life imprisonment or imprisonment up to seven years or a fine, LiveLaw reported.
The Commission has also suggested changes to the phrasing of the Section, from what it is now:
Whoever 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 lndia, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
to:
“Whoever 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 lndia, with a tendency to incite violence or cause public disorder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”
2/06/2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enL_OqVv-20&feature=youtu.be
Feb 4, 2022
More than 13,000 Indians, trapped by a colonial law, are suspended in a legal blackhole. Who are they? Why do they face prison sentences for things they have said or done under a law that most democratic countries have abolished? How do the State and the courts use this archaic law? Join our panel discussion today at 8pm featuring Rebecca John https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enL_OqVv-20&t=1261s , Varun Grover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enL_OqVv-20&t=2325s and Aakar Patel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enL_OqVv-20&t=1747s with our Editor Databases Lub hyathi Rangarajan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enL_OqVv-20&t=160s and Samar Halarnkar
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”.
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.