Supreme Court holds persecution and application of Sedition Law, asks union and states to review provisions

In a significant hearing, the Supreme Court of India has put a hold on the persecutions under ‘Sedition Law’ (IPC 124-A) and further application of the law. The Supreme Court has also sought reconsiderations from the Union and State governments in its provisions and directed the union and states in the interim order not to register any cases under Section 124 A till the center completes its review of the existing provisions.

A bench comprising the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Hima Kohli held that all pending cases, appeals, and proceeding with respect to charges framed under Section124 A be kept in abeyance. Adjudication concerning other sections (sec 124) may proceed with no prejudice being caused to the accused; the bench held, “We hope and expect Centre and State Governments will refrain from registering any FIR, continuing investigation, or taking coercive steps under Section 124 A IPC when it is under reconsideration. It will be appropriate not to use this provision of law till further re-examination is over.”

The Court also held that those already booked under Section 124A IPC and are in jail could approach the concerned courts for bail. It has also been ruled that if any fresh case is registered, appropriate parties are at liberty to approach courts for appropriate relief sought to take into account the order passed by the court.

The Sedition Law is a colonial-era law enacted 152 years ago. In India, the wide and arbitrary use and invocation of the Sedition Act have seen an exponential rise, especially after the formation of the second NDA government. Many International think tanks and democracy watchdogs have mentioned India’s blanket use of sedition charges to curb dissents and discontents in recent years.

Even the editor of Barak Bulletin was booked with sedition charges for writing an opinion piece on the linguistic fault lines in Assam. According to the available data (by Article14 portal) total of 40 Sedition cases have been registered in the last 10 years, and 95% of those were registered since 2014, whereas many as 149 cases of sedition were booked for remark against India’s prime minister around the country. 25 cases of sedition were filed against the anti- CAA protestors, 22 were filed after the Hathras Gang rape case in Uttar Pradesh (including against the journalist Siddique Kappan), and 27 were filed in the aftermath of the Pulwama Attack in 2019.