An analysis of sedition law in India

Abstract

Sedition was a part of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as drafted by Thomas Macaulay, but it was removed from the law when IPC was enacted in 1860. However, a decade later in 1870, the clause for sedition was introduced in IPC as Section 124A2 . The provision against sedition was introduced to suppress the rising Wahabi activities between 1860 and 1870. Also, the British government considered that the press could be controlled with such clauses. Several amendments were made to this provision with time. Ironically, sedition law was employed by the Britishers to curb the nationalist sentiment in the sub-continent. When it comes to having sedition laws in penal code, India is no special case. Many countries, especially, Common Law countries, continue to have provisions against sedition or have laws that criminalize the criticisms against the ruling establishment. What is special about India is the path sedition law took over the years. In other liberal democracies, the judiciary has tightened and narrowed the definition of what would constitute as sedition. With such tight interpretations, the sedition laws in most countries became unattractive and are unused. On the contrary, while the Apex Court in India read down the law in a 1962 judgement, the governments continue to use the law to suppress dissent. Majority of the cases registered are not aligned with the definition of sedition given in IPC or as interpreted by the Court. Note: The key definitions and statements from judgments have been taken directly from the relevant sources mentioned in the end notes. Such content has been written in italics in the report.