Is it time to repeal our law on sedition?
By Binu Paul, SiliconIndia   |   Saturday, 16 April 2011, 14:18 IST
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Is it time to repeal our law on sedition?
Bangalore: Is it time to repeal our law on sedition? 'Yes', says Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily who feels that the law relating to sedition is outdated and asserted, and assured that the government would take a re-look at the legislation and see how it could be updated. Moily said there was enough debate on sedition laws and the law doesn't reflect the democratic aspirations of the country and the spirit of Constitution. He further stated that the same law was used against freedom fighters during the national movement and now it is being used against citizens. According to India's sedition law, section 124A of the Penal Code, any words either spoken or written, or any signs or visible representation that can cause "hatred or contempt, or excites is prohibited. However, in the Kedarnath Singh versus State of Bihar dispute, the Supreme Court had clarified that the sedition charge could be applied only if the accused incited violence by their speech or action. Causing a major setback to the Chattisgarh government which was crusading to persecute Dr.Binayak Sen, the Supreme Court has granted bail to the civil right activist ruling that showing sympathy with the Maoists is no ground to convict him and put him in jail. On 24 December 2010, Dr. Sen was sentenced to life term imprisonment by the Raipur Sessions' Court on charges of helping the Naxalites. There was a widespread call for Sen's release as the human rights activists felt that his detention was absolutely unlawful. Many social activists had condemned the court ruling for the respect of this doctor who has spent the better part of his life working for tribals in some of the country's poorest areas. Human Rights Watch has demanded for revoking India's colonial-era sedition law as it's been used to silence peaceful political dissent over the years. Granting bail to Dr. Sen, the Supreme Court said, "We are a democratic country. He may be a sympathizer of Naxalites but it did not make him guilty of sedition. He is a sympathizer. Nothing beyond that." Similarly writer and columnist Arundhati Roy, Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and few others were charged with sedition by Delhi Police in November 2010 for allegedly giving an "anti-India" speech at a seminar titled "Azadi-the Only Way." However, the government had earlier decided not to file any case against them. According to Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, "Using sedition laws to silence peaceful criticism is the hallmark of an oppressive government." It's high time that we amend our law of sedition so that our judicial system can find the real traitors of the nation and not the ones who oppose the government which does not treat everyone the same.

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