The Supreme Court has ordered the Union government and states not to file any FIRs, continue investigations, or use any coercive measures under Section 124A till the Centre completes its review of the sedition statute. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli issued the order. The bench also added that if similar issues arise in the future, the parties are free to approach the court and the court must act quickly to resolve them.
The Supreme Court further stated that persons who have been arrested under Section 124A IPC and are now incarcerated can seek bail from the appropriate tribunals. “It would be reasonable to suspend the clause”, the bench said.
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Allowing the Central government to re-examine and reassess Section 124A’s provisions, the Supreme Court stated that it would be acceptable not to employ the provision of legislation until the re-examination was completed.
“The court is mindful of the State’s role on the one hand and people’ civil freedoms on the other”, the bench added. There is a demand for considering balance. The petitioner claims that this law, which dates back to 1870, is being misapplied. The Attorney General has also offered examples of brazen abuse, such as charges lodged for Hanuman Chalisa recitals.
Sedition law: India's Supreme Court puts controversial law on hold https://t.co/HkO2tiCR8H
— BBC News India (@BBCIndia) May 11, 2022
Sedition legislation is a relic of the colonial past. Thomas Macaulay wrote Sedition 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which was inserted in the IPC in 1870. It states, ‘Whoever, 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’.
