Krishna Institute Of Law E-Journals (Krishna Law Review) Vol.

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Sedition Law in India a Threat of Democracy:

Critically Study
Anil Kumar
Assistant Professor (Krishna Institute of Law)

Abstract

The Law of sedition that existed during British rule has always been disputed. It violates
the rights of the people. The government has been misusing it in the name of law and order,
that’s why at present once again the law of sedition has become the subject of controversy.
It is proving to be dangerous for democracy due to the freedom and expression of the
people getting weekend which is against the constitutional rights of the people. Democracy
is always born with independence but India has failed to play this important role because
of the lack of interest of the contemporary leaders to follow the principles of democracy.
The provision is being misused by the government. The study aims to amend the provision
and protect freedom of speech and expression which is fundamentally guaranteed in the
constitution of India.

INTRODUCTION
Free speech is one of the most significant principles of democracy. The purpose of this freedom
is to allow an individual to attain self-fulfillment, assist in the discovery of truth, strengthen the
capacity of a person to make decisions, and facilitate a balance between stability and social
change. Freedom of speech and expression is the first and foremost human right, the first
condition of liberty, mother of all liberties, as it makes life meaningful. This freedom is termed
the essence of a free society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, in its Preamble
and Article 19 declared freedom of speech as a basic fundamental right. Article 19(1) (a) of our
Indian Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and expression to all its citizens. However,
this freedom is subjected to certain restrictions namely, interests of the sovereignty and integrity
of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or
morality, or about contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to an offense.

People oppose this provision as a remnant of colonial legacy and thereby unsuited in a
democracy. There is an apprehension that the government is misusing this provision to suppress
dissent. Even without under section 124A IPC; there are appropriate constitutional and statutory
safeguards. On the other side, it is also contended that amidst growing concerns about national
security, this section provides a reasonable restriction on utterances that are inimical to the
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security and integrity of the nation. The 267th Report of the Commission on ― 2017thHate
Speech, differentiates between sedition and hate speech contending that the offense of hate
speech affects the State indirectly by disturbing public tranquility, while sedition is an offense
against the State directly. The Report mentions that to qualify as sedition, the impugnedexpression
must threaten the democracy of India. Sedition was not acceptable to the makers of the
Constitution as a prohibition on the freedom of speech and expression, but it remained as it is in the
penal law post-independence. After independence, section 124A IPC came into existence for
consideration for the first time in the case of Romesh Thapar vs. the State of Madras AIR 1950 SC
124 The Supreme Court declared that unless the freedom of speech and expression threatens
the security of tends to overthrow the State ‘any law restricting the same would not fall within
Article 19(2) of the constitution. At present, the question raised by the chief justice of India
says, “The use of sedition is like giving a saw to a carpenter to cut a piece of wood, anddecision
of the highest court has conducted a rousing debate about sedition law and its widespread misuse
by state authority.” The sedition law being persistently misused has beenrecognized a year ago,
and courts have pointed out that the police authorities are not heeding the limitation imposed by a
constitution bench of S.C. on what constitutes sedition. In a democracy, people have the
nontransferable right to change the government they do not like people will show disaffection
in respect of a government that has failed them. The law of sedition punishes them for hating a
government that states the government because it violates Article 19(1) (a) and is not protected by
Article 19(2). 1

The Kedar Nath case decided and provided the guideline for the law enforcement machinery to
easily take out the fundamental right of citizens. National crime records bureau indicates that
sedition cases have risen from 47 in 2014 to 93 in 2019, a massive percent jump. However, the
conversion rate from cases to conviction is a mere 3 percent. This shows that the police and related
state authorities are using the sedition law indiscriminately to create fear amongst the citizens and
silence any criticism or dissent against the regime. Freedom of speech and expression is the
hallmark of democracy that is being compromised due to the sedition law. Democracy requires
citizens to actively participate in all legal things which benefit human beings. At the time of the
making of the sedition law the legislature intended to save and protect people from a notorious
person but nowadays the sedition law is being used as a weapon to silence the hijackers which is
very dangerous for our democracy. 2

ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF SEDITION

In British rule, the sedition law was used against Indian freedom fighters to suppress dissent and
imprisoned such as Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak who criticized the policies of the
colonial administration. The most vehement critics of the sedition law were given by K. M. Munshi

1. https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/freedom-of-speech-and-expression/
2. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/sedition-law-threat-indian-democracy/

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argued that such a law that is not changeable is a threat to democracy in India. The drafting,
prepared this Indian Penal code by the first law commission chaired by Lord Macaulay in
1834.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF SEDITION
Though various High courts of India at one time thought that the provision of section 124 A of
the code is ultra virus the constitution, hence they are void but S.C. has given the historical
judgment in Kedar Nath vs. the State of Bihar AIR 1962 that the provisions of sections 124A
and 305 of the code are not unconstitutional and violative the fundamental right under Article
19(1) (a) of the constitution. 1.

MEANING OF SEDITION UNDER SECTION 124A IPC

Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization that tends towards rebellion against
the established order. The sedition treats as anti-national against people. However, it is often
argued that the misuse of law alone does not provide it invalid. The government itself admitted in
parliament that the definition of sedition is too wide and requires considerable. According to
section 124-A of IPC, whoever by words, either spoken or written or by signs or visible
representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring hatred, contempt, or disaffection towards
the government established by law in India commits the offense of sedition. The court has
recorded its hope and expectation that the government at the center and state will refrain from
registering any fresh case of sedition u/s 124-A of IPC. The government may choose to prevent
such a situation by amending it so that the offense is narrowly defined to Lord Macaulay in
1837. Section 124A was enacted by the British colonial government in 1870, and covers only
acts that affect the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the state, as reportedly recommended by
a panel of experts. 4

CONCERN FACTORS MAKE THE LAW SERIOUS

The sedition law is a handy tool for the police authority and affiliated state institutions to produce
fear amongst the people. According to Composition 14, two- dozen sedition cases were filed on
crucial numbers of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) demurrers, 27 cases related to the
Pulwama incident, and 22 cases related to the content of the Hathras gang-rape incident.
Inflammatory acts range from simply showing posters to raising anti-government taglines and
particular dispatches on social media.

1. Shukla V.N. Constitution of India. EBC Publication (P) Ltd. Lucknow, 2017
2. Rai, Kailash. The Constitutional Law of India. Central Law Publication. 2015

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Substantial abuse of section 124- A was when six prominent intelligencers during the growers’
demurrers in Delhi in 2021. Numerous cases of abuse of the provision are taken a hard step when
three Kashmiri scholars were arrested in Agra for allegedly participating in celebratory
dispatches on social media after Pakistan’s palm over India in a T20 match.

Two- dozen sedition cases were filed on crucial numbers of the Citizenship Amendment Act
(CAA) demurrers, 27 cases related to the Pulwama incident, and 22 cases related to the content
of the Hathras gang-rape incident. Consecutive centers and state governments have observed the
draconian provision with indeed redundant zeal. As in step with the records collected with the
aid of using the National Crime Records Bureau, cases below phase 124- A have witnessed a
steep upward drive by rearmost times. For cases, sixty-five probabilities of nearly1, 000 people
in 816 sedition cases because 2010 has been intertwined after 2014. Nearly 163 chance vaults in
cases from 2014 to 2020, at the same time as the conviction charge, are as little as three chances,
States which include the bones. Dominated with the aid of using the Opposition events have now
no longer proven any restraint in making use of the draconian provision. As in step with the
NCRB records (2010- 2020), 168 cases have been filed with the aid of using Bihar police,
observed with the aid of using Tamil Nadu (139), Uttar Pradesh (115), and Jharkhand (62),
Karnataka (50), and Odisha (30). 5

SEDITION LAW IS CONTRARY TO THE REPUBLIC

The sedition laws were legislated under specific circumstances to cover and advance colonialism.
Similar laws should have no place in an ultramodern republic governed by free speech and
expression. Liberal republic demands that every citizen is allowed to suppose, express, and
organize “souring” against the government. Rather than being a crime, free expression is a virtue
in any popular polity. Putting decoration on this, utmost former British- ruled homes including
the United States, Australia, and New Zealand have abolished the inflammatory vittles. Indeed,
the British government scrapped the inflammatory vittles under the Coroners and Justice Act in
2010.
As political polarization and political mistrust continue to grow in the country, in an adding
number of cases, they said law has been weaponized by the governments as a handy tool against
their political rivals, to suppress dissent and free speech. Despite its wide abuse by governments
of all tinges performing in numerous innocent victims spending months and times in
guardianship without getting court sounds, there have been no visible sweats either from any
political divisions or the bar to stop the ever-growing decay of the Indian republic. While the
Supreme Court had delivered a decisive verdict in Kadar Nath in 1962, easily stating that the
sedition law was supposed to be applied in rare cases where the security and sovereignty of the
country over covered had little bearing on operations of sedition charges by state authorities
particularly the police.

1. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/sedition-law-threat-indian-democracy/

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Several recent judgments by the Supreme Court and several high courts have vividly brought
these aspects of abuse out to the public, albeit with little or no inhibiting goods on police and
other state institutions. Still, the Union government’s last- nanosecond volte-face from its earlier
stage of supporting Section 124- A before the indigenous bench of the Supreme Court and the
latter’s bold decision to put the social law in latency till the government reviews the controversial
provision offers a hint of a stopgap. While the invalidation of sedition law isn't enough to stem
the spoilage in the Indian republic, it would produce an opening for the review of other anti-
democratic vittles. To conclude, as India is celebrating 75 times its independence, under the
banner “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, it would be a major occasion to abolish the dark chapter
of social rule.

ANTI-ETHICAL TO FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY

Freedom of speech and expression is the hallmark of a republic that's being compromised due to
the sedition law. A republic requires citizens to laboriously share in debates and express their
formative examines of government programs. Still, the sedition laws have empowered the
administrative branch of the government to use the ambiguously defined provision as an
instrument to regulate public opinion and indiscriminately apply power. There have been
numerous cases where the government has used the sedition law to suppress protesting voices to
cover its interests. The apprehensions of the NDTV intelligencer Vinod Dua for criticizing the
government’s response to COVID- 19 and the 22- time-old Disha Ravi in the Greta Thunberg
toolkit case for twittering in solidarity with the planter’s agitation in India have raised numerous
questions about freedom of speech and expression in India. When intelligencers are cleaned
through the sedition law, it impacts the republic. The sedition laws reduce government
responsibility as the government is suitable to ignore its critics and in turn charge them with
sedition. Most instances are where the government has used the sedition law to suppress
protesting voices to protect it. 6

A historic judgment by the Supreme Court bench has put all sedition cases on abeyance till the
Union government reconsiders the colonial-era law. Within the interim order, the bench
comprising justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice Surya Kant
directed the Union and State governments to refrain from registering any FIRs under Section
124-A of the Indian legal code. While this can be an interim order and therefore the judgment
could also be different, nonetheless, the order may be a watershed within the history of 162-year
colonial law. Sedition law was made by the British countryside to use as a weapon against the
general public, since then till date, the sedition law has been used against the general public by
governments, but in modern times, the sedition law is getting used against Article 19(1) (a).

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-asks-centre-states-to-not-file-fresh-firs-in-
sedition-cases/article65403622.ece

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Given these circumstances, the Supreme Court has asked the government to alter it to place a
stop to that and to secure the rights of the people, because the laws are for the people, not against
the people, and the law of sedition prohibits freedom of speech. Because speaking against the
government isn't entirely clear which cases come under sedition law. The sedition laws have
empowered the administrative branch of the government to use the ambiguously defined
provision as an instrument to regulate public opinion and indiscriminately apply power. Yet,
what's further concerning is that formerly arrested under the sedition law, it's extremely delicate
to get bail as the trial process can be stretched for a long. This leads to the importunity of
innocent people and induces fear in others to speak against the government. The case of the
Kashmiri scholars in Hubli is an illustration of the difficulty of getting bail in a sedition case as
they got dereliction bail after 100 days of police guardianship.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, sedition laws and their growing abuse by governments of all stripes including the
opposition-ruled countries are a matter of serious concern. Particular liberty and the right to free
speech are emblems of liberal republic and sedition laws and their gross abuse attack the very
foundation of these liberties elevated in the Indian Constitution. The need of the hour requires
the bar to review this draconian law. Indeed, if rescinding this law may not be doable, toning it
down and issuing strict guidelines to limit its magpie use can surely help India’s popular
standing piecemeal by securing freedom of expression in the country. Freedom of speech is the
hallmark of democracy which is compromised by sedition law. The sedition laws have
empowered the legislation of the government to use ambiguous provisions as an instrument to
control the general public order. Given the seriousness displayed by the present CJI to review the
seditious provisions and also the Union government’s surprise goes down to reconsider its
original stand on the identical, one may expect a decisive verdict on this within the future that
ideally should haven't any place in an exceedingly modern democracy.

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REFERENCE

 AIR 1950 SC 124

 AIR 1962

 Shukla V.N. Constitution of India. EBC Publication (P) Ltd. Lucknow, 2017
 Rai, Kailash. The Constitutional Law of India. Central Law Publication. 2015

 Pandey, J. N. Constitution of India, Central Law Agency, 2013

 Saxena, R.N., Indian Penal Code, Central Law Publication, 2012

 https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-law-of-sedition-
isunconstitutional/article35027081.ece
 https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/overdue-review-the-hindu-editorial-onthe-sedition-
law/article35372665.ece
 https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/freedom-from-sedition/article35916113.ece

 https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-sedition-law-the-past-present-and-future/