By Samriddhi Thakar
“Sedition is the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Introduction
“Everything cannot be seditious. It is time we define what is sedition and what is not”, said a bench headed by Justice D.Y Chandrachud as it restrained the Andhra Pradesh government from taking an action against two Telugu channels booked under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code.[1]
Recently the Supreme Court in the case of eminent journalist Vinod Dua quashed FIR filed against him under sedition law. A Delhi High Court granted bail to activist Disha Ravi in a sedition case. The sedition law has been in controversy for ages.
Many leaders have termed the law as draconian as it violates the fundamental right to the free speech of a person. It is an age-old law and one of the most debated topics in contemporary times. Our Preamble clearly states that India is a Democratic country.
Every person has a right to speak, express, and criticize freely. But this law tries to take away those rights. It lays down reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech.
What is Sedition?
Sedition in general parlance means conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of the State.
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code defines Sedition as, “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 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.”[2]
Meaning of Sedition
The word Sedition has been derived from the Latin word “seditio” which means “going apart.” Sedition basically means any person who by making use of words either spoken, written, or signs or by visible representations tries to incite violence in the society against the Government.
Whoever tries to create disaffection in the minds of people against the Government and provokes them to incite violence can be said to have committed sedition and can be held under Section 124Aof the Indian Penal Code.
Evolution of Sedition law
The evolution of Sedition law dates back to the British India regime. It is said that it was introduced to suppress the voices emanating from the Indian freedom movement. The law was originally drafted by Thomas Macaulay in 1837, but it was omitted when the Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860. Later on, Sir James Stephen felt the need to have a specific section to deal with this offense, and hence Section 124A was inserted in 1870 by an amendment.
Various freedom fighters were victims of this draconian law. Mahatma Gandhiji was convicted for “bringing or attempting to bring disaffection towards His Majesty’s Government established by law in British India”. He further said that this section was “the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen.”
In his speech at the trial, he said, “Affection cannot be manufactured or regulated by law. If one has no affection for a person or system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence.”
After the independence, the Indian leaders realized the dangers of this law to freedom of speech and expression contained in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. In the year 1951, PM Jawaharlal Nehru expressed his dislike for Section 124A, and stated that, “particular section is highly objectionable and obnoxious and it should have no place both for practical and historical reasons.”
Landmark cases of Sedition in India
Pre-independence
In the case of Queen Empress Vs. Jogendra Chunder Bose,[3] the petitioner wrote an article criticizing the Age Consent Bill, 1891, which rose the legal age for sexual intercourse for women from 10 years to 12 years. His criticism was regarded as disobedience towards the government and booked for the offense of sedition. This case gave the definition of the term disaffection. Further, the case was dropped and Bose was released on bail.
Sedition trial of Mahatma Gandhiji
In this case, Mahatma Gandhiji was booked under the of offense sedition for publishing three politically sensitive articles in his weekly journal Young India. He was charged with “bringing or attempting to excite disaffection towards His Majesty’s Government established by law in British India”. Therefore, he was sentenced to imprisonment of six years.
Post-Independence
In the landmark case of Kedar Nath Singh Vs. State of Bihar,[4] the appellant was a member of the Forward Communist Party in Bihar; he used various offensive terms against the officers of C.I.D and the Indian National Congress by terming them as “dogs” and “Goondas” respectively.
He further made some offensive statements and was charged under the offense of sedition. Hence, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgement upholding the validity of Section 124A of the IPC but simultaneously limiting the scope of offense of sedition in the IPC laid down by British era law.
In the case of Tara Singh Gopi Chand Vs. The State,[5] Gopi Chand was charged under Section 124A of the IPC for giving two speeches. He had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 124A by saying that it should be held void as it is in contravention of the right to free speech and expression.
The High Court held that Section 124A is constitutionally invalid and it is a violation of free speech and expression. Hence, the Court struck down this provision and quashed the proceedings against Tara Singh.
Recently in the case of Vinod Dua Vs. Union of India & Others,[6] the petitioner was charged with an offense of sedition for posting a video on YouTube and making some statements against PM Modi. It was held by the Supreme Court that every journalist is entitled to protection and has the right to criticize the Government. Hence, the case against Dua was dropped.
Sedition in other laws
Sedition law can be found in some other laws as well which are as follows:
- Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 124A).
- The Code for Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 95- Power to declare certain publications forfeited and to issue search warrants for the same.).
- The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act, 1911 (An Act to prevent the public meetings likely to promote sedition or cause a disturbance of public tranquility.).
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 [Section 2(o)(iii) An act which causes or is intended to cause disaffection against India.]
Freedom of Speech and Sedition
Our country has given us some of the most important fundamentals rights. The right to free speech and expression is one of them. It basically means that every person has a right to express himself/herself without fearing the sanctions of the Government.
Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution grants freedom of speech and expression to the people of this country. Every person has a right to express their views, opinions or even criticize the government. Speech is a powerful tool in the hand of the people. The basic reason behind granting such a right is to allow citizens to participate in the social and political process of the country.
It is very important to hear the concerns or voices of the people and solve their grievances. In absence of such freedom, the democracy of the country will be threatened. Freedom cannot be absolute there are certain restrictions imposed on it.
Likewise, certain restrictions are also imposed on the freedom of speech and expression which are as follows:
- Defamation
- Contempt of Court
- Decency or morality
- Security of the State
- Friendly relations with sovereign states
- Public order
- Maintenance of the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Sedition on the other hand is a draconian law. Every person has a right to express oneself but this law tries to take away this right. Sedition is a serious offense in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution. Many times the constitutional validity of this law was in question.
This law was basically laid down during the British India times where they were trying to suppress the Indians. Sedition is now targeted towards activists, journalists, artists, students, or anyone who criticizes the government, etc. But in the recent context, it should be applied only if needed and in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court.
Punishment
Any person who commits the offense of sedition is punishable with imprisonment for life with a fine, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years with a fine. It is a cognizable offense, non-bailable and non-compoundable offense that is triable by the Court of Session.
Conclusion
Sedition is one of the ruthless laws of our country that still exists in our penal code. Many eminent leaders have termed it an oppressive law. It is the law that takes away the right of the people. Nowadays the instances of sedition have been increasing to a greater extent.
Every other day we hear the news of someone getting charged against sedition. Freedom of speech is an essential element for the proper functioning of a democracy. It is the first condition of liberty and it is also called as mother of all other liberties.
For the healthy and proper growth of the country freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important and indispensable aspects. Hence, some changes should be made in the sedition law.
References
- newslaundry.com
- .newsclick.in
- academia.edu
- https://blog.ipleaders.in/sedition-in-india/
- Utkarsh Anand, “It’s time we define what is and is not sedition: SC,” Hindustan Times, available at: hindustantimes.com (last visited on 11June, 2021)↑
- Indian Penal Code, 1860, sec 124A ↑
- Queen Empress Vs. Jogendra Chunder Bose and Ors. , (1892) ILR 19 Cal 35 ↑
- Kedar Nath Singh Vs. State Of Bihar, 1962 AIR 955 ↑
- Tara Singh Gopi Chand Vs. State, 1951 CriLJ 449 ↑
- Vinod Dua Vs. Union of India & Ors, (CRL.) NO.154 OF 2020 ↑