Review of sedition

Review of sedition

Subject: Polity

Section: Constitution

Context: In a recent development, the Supreme Court has announced its decision to hear a series of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the sedition provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in January. This move follows the introduction of bills by the Centre in Parliament, aiming to replace the outdated colonial-era penal statutes. Among the proposed changes is the repeal of the contentious sedition law.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has expressed his intent to form an appropriate bench to address the matter.

Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code addresses the crime of sedition, which involves engaging in acts or attempts to generate hatred or contempt against the government, with a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. It was incorporated into the penal code in 1890. This happened 57 years before India gained independence and nearly 30 years after the IPC itself was enacted.

The decision to revisit the constitutional validity of the sedition law marks a significant development in the ongoing legal discourse surrounding freedom of expression and the need to reassess archaic legal frameworks. The outcome of the Supreme Court’s review will likely have far-reaching implications on the legal landscape in India.

Why a larger bench is needed?

• A larger bench is needed since the provision was upheld in 1962 by a five-judge bench in ‘Kedar Nath Singhvs State of Bihar’.
• Senior Advocate Gopal Sankara narayanan for the petitioner surged the SC to list it be fore as even-judge bench keeping in view the Kedarnath decision was delivered by a five-judge bench.