India’s most dreaded yet dearest word

Sedition is a word that appears every day on news. The recent turn of events that made sedition the headlines was that the Supreme Court quashed the case of sedition filed against a journalist in Himachal Pradesh. He was accused of making remarks against the Prime Minister and the government’s handling of the migrant crisis that followed COVID- 19 lock down during the first wave last year in a video.
A sedition case was filed against him under section 124A of the IPC. The section penalises sedition as punishable with either imprisonment ranging from three years to a lifetime, a fine, or both. The Supreme Court once again as a saviour of constitutional rights quashed the case rendering his remarks as genuine criticism of the government. The Supreme Court reiterated the principles of the landmark case Kedarnath Singh versus union of India 1962. In landmark judgment the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of sedition law while restricting its scope for misuse.

A walk through the history of sedition

Sedition law was enacted in India during the colonial era. It was the brainchild of England who believed that only good opinions of the government should survive. Macauley is credited with drafting the sedition law for the first time in 1837. In 1870 section 124A was introduced in Indian Penal Code. Many freedom fighters were booked under sedation. The first person was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who was accused of writing seditious articles in his newspaper, Kesari. His judgement in Bombay High Court was passed by Arthur Strachey for the ‘seditious libel’.
The law survived in post-independence India. In the constituent assembly an attempt was made by K.M. Munshi, a strong supporter of free speech, to repeal the word sedition from the list of exceptions for rights to free speech under article 19 of the constitution. It was a successful endeavour however sedition remained functional under the Indian Penal Code.
From time to time the Supreme Court took charge to interpret the law vis-à-vis Brij Bhushan vs the state of Delhi (1950), Romesh Thappar vs the state of Madras (1950), Kedarnath Singh vs state of Bihar (1962) and Balwant Singh vs State of Punjab (1995). The landmark 1962 judgement upheld the constitutionality of sedition but limited its application. It defined that the thin line between ‘very strong speech’ and ‘vigorous words’ strongly critical of the government.
Presently, Section 124A of IPC states-

‘Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by science, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brains or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite this affection towards the government established by law in India 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’

What next?
Sedition cannot be repealed within a fortnight. It has a long history and will have a future as well. The best the government can do is the refrain from misusing it, the Supreme Court will remain the saviour of the people of India and us, the citizens should try to use freedom of speech in the best interest of the nation.