From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday practically banned the 152-year-old colonial-era non-bailable sedition law under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 124A “to protect people” from arrests and “preserve the civil liberty of the citizens” until the government reviews it.
In an interim order, a Chief Justice of India N V Ramana-led Special Bench said the provision of the sedition law would remain suspended indefinitely, and till further order since it was putting in abeyance the provision of sedition, punishable with jail term ranging from three years to life.
Many of those lying in jails under Section 124A may not be released as the usual practice of police is to slap multiple of other criminal charges to ensure they do not easily get the freedom.
“It will be appropriate not to use this provision of law till further re-examination is over. We hope and expect the Centre and states will desist from registering any FIR [First Information Report] under Section 124A or initiate proceedings under the same till its re-examination is over,” said the bench, which also comprised justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.
The salient features of the Supreme Court order are:
— Until re-examination of the sedition law provision is complete, no case will be registered under Section 124 nor any investigation be taken up under this provision;
— Those already booked under the sedition law, and are in jail, could approach competent court for appropriate relief and bail and the court will expeditiously consider bail;
— Reliefs granted to the accused by the court would continue;
— If any fresh cases are filed, concerned parties may approach court and court to expeditiously dispose of the same;
— The Centre is at liberty to issue additional directions to the states to prevent misuse of the law. “We hope and expect that Centre and States will desist from registering any FIR under Section 124A or initiate proceedings under the same till re-examination is over,” the CJI said.
— Without fixing any deadline for completing review of the provision, the Bench fixed the third week of July when the Apex Court’s summer vacation ends for hearing pleas challenging the sedition law’s validity, hoping that the Centre would by then have tike to undertake its re-examination.
CJI Ramana said the court has to undertake a difficult exercise of balancing civil liberty and sovereignty of the nation.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners once again argued that the law be scrapped. He pointed out that there are over 800 cases of sedition filed across India, under which 13,000 people are languishing in jails.
After firmly defending the sedition law and repeatedly asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the pleas challenging it, the government on Monday made an about-turn, saying it has decided to review the legislation. The government sources said this about-turn came on the instructions from Prime Minister Modi himself.
Section 124A of the IPC dealing with sedition was drafted by Thomas Babington Macaulay and included in the IPC in 1870 and as the CJI mentioned in the course of hearing it was used by the British against the freedom fighters including Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, holding them as terrorists. The Supreme Court had on Tuesday accepted the Centre’s prayer to re-examine the sedition law.
Sedition is a non-bailable offence and the punishment varies from imprisonment up to three years to a life term and fine. A person charged under this law can’t apply for a government job, nor can he obtain a passport to travel abroad and he is required to present himself in court as and when required.
Section 124A of the IPC, which deals with sedition, state: “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 India 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.”
