Sedition law a serious threat to individual liberty, says SC

Manjil Das, INN/Chennai
Twitter-@SGiggle29 @Infodeaofficial

On Thursday’s Supreme Court challenged the Centre, with its “huge power of abuse,” whether the rule on colonial seditions used earlier to persecute leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak should not be scrapped.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, top law officer of the government, argued that the whole legislation does not have to be abolished and that the tribunal may provide for stringent guidelines so that the provision fulfils its lawful purpose.

It was noted that the indiscriminate application under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of Section 124A is like a snake in a carpenter’s hand, which chops down all the forest instead of a tree.

“After 75 years, this law unfortunately continued… This administration has scrapped several outdated legislations. Why don’t you check into this law, we don’t know? Continuing this legislation is a grave threat to the operation of institutions and the freedom of individuals,” stated Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana’s bench.

The Court noted the central government’s concern at the “missuse of the law and the lack of accountability of the executive and the investigative institutions” and the pursuit of a clump of petitions that have pushed for the striking down of Section 124A (sedition) the IPC.

Comments from the Court occur with a surge in the number of instances of sedition. The number of such instances increased by 160 percent to 93 between 2016 and 2019 according to statistics obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau. In these instances, however, the conviction rate was only 3.3% in 2019.

“It is not a question that it is a colonial statute that the United Kingdom employed in suppressing independence and against Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi. After 75 years of freedom, is this law still necessary? Should you preserve that in the book of law?” Venugopal addressed the court, including Judges A.S. Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy.

The Bench asked the Attorney General on Wednesday to support him in granting a plea by retired army officer S.G. Vombatkere. It asked for a direction which would invalidate every action ongoing with the police and courts across the nation under section 124A, and for the constitutional legitimacy of Section 124A.

Venugopal said on Thursday, when the case began, that at least two other cases were pending before the other Supreme Court benches on the constitutionality of Section 124A and, therefore, the Bench of CJI may hear all these matters together. Senior Advisor Shyam Divan stated that the Indian Editor’s Guild had also requested that the sedition legislation be established, and their plea should be combined.

The bench agreed to listen together to all these things.

“The conviction rate is quite low if you look at the history of this area. It is possible to relate the tremendous abuse power of this area to a saw-setter. He chops the whole forest instead of chopping a tree, “Bench remarked. That bench stated.

“Take 66A IT – even after it has been stricken hundreds of instances have been lodged. It can also use 124A if the police want to repair anyone. When this section can be called, everyone is a little frightened. All these are problems that must be investigated… In order to silence dissident voices, a political party can use this Law for reserving others “That bench added that within two weeks the bench will consider all of these instances in Section 124A.