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History of Sedition Law in India
History of Sedition Law in India
The section corresponding to
section 124A, the law that defines sedition in the IPC, was originally section
113 of Macaulay’s Draft Penal Code of 1837-39, but the section was omitted from
the IPC as it was enacted in 1860. James Fitzjames Stephens, the architect of the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872, has been quoted as saying that this omission was the
result of a mistake. Another explanation for this omission is that the British
government wished to adopt more wideranging strategies against the press
including a deposit-forfeiture system and general powers of preventive action.
Section 124A was introduced by
the British colonial government in 1870 when it felt the need for a specific
section to deal with the offence. It was one of the many draconian laws enacted
to stifle any voices of dissent at that time. Mahatma Gandhi was prescient in
recognising the fundamental threat it provided to democracy when he called it
the ‘prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to
suppress the liberty of the citizen.’ Prominent persons charged with sedition
under this law include Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mohandas Gandhi.
The framework of this section was
imported from various sources- the Treason Felony Act (operating in Britain),
the common law of seditious libel and the English law relating to seditious
words. The common law of seditious libel governed both actions and words that
pertained to citizens and the government, as well as between communities of
persons. The initial cases that invoked the sedition law included numerous prosecutions
against the editors of nationalist newspapers. The first among them was the
trial of Jogendra Chandra Bose in 1891.
Bose, the editor of the newspaper, Bangobasi, wrote an article
criticising the Age of Consent Bill for posing a threat to religion and for its
co-ercive relationship with Indians. His article also commented on the negative
economic impact of British colonialism. Bose was prosecuted and accused of
exceeding the limits of legitimate criticism, and inciting
Meaning of Sedition
It needs to be adverted that the
word “sedition” does not turn up
anywhere in the Indian Constitution and is an offence against the state as
enumerated in the IPC, in which Article 19 of the Indian Constitution holds
great relevance. The contemporary discernment of sedition in India encompasses
all those practices, whether by word, deed, or writing, that are reckoned to
disturb the tranquility of the State and lead ignorant persons to debase the
government. Chapter VI of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with “offences”
against the State. Section 124A of the IPC defines Sedition as follows:-
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 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.
Why Need To Be Change
Today India has emerging as a
super power with advent of Modern technology and globalization. The most
important is the attitude of people towards the Government or ruling class has
revolutionized and people can get the policies and schemes amended in order to
improve their estate. As it has already been mentioned in article that The Law
of Sedition was enacted in the later 1800’s and it is an overt truth that the
Law on Sedition enacted by the Brtishers was to quell and oppress the Indian
Freedom struggle and it was enacted in the context of a totally different kind
of India.
Drop Sedition Charges against Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi
Trivedi was arrested in Mumbai on
September 8, 2012, after a complaint that his cartoons mocked the Indian constitution
and national emblem. He was charged with sedition under section 124A of the
Indian Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment,
despite a five-decade-old Supreme Court ruling that sedition requires evidence
of incitement to violence.
Trivedi’s cartoons have recently
focused on political corruption, such as the one portraying the national emblem
with blood-thirsty wolves instead of lions, and with the words “Corruption
Triumphs” instead of “Truth Alone Triumphs.” In addition to sedition, he was
also charged under section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour
Act, 1971, dealing with insult to the national flag and the constitution, and
section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which deals with “information
that is grossly offensive or has menacing character.” In December the
authorities suspended his website, Cartoons Against Corruption, after a
complaint alleging it showcased inappropriate content.
“Indian authorities have
unlawfully charged individuals with sedition on repeated occasions for peaceful
political purposes contrary to explicit directives of the Supreme Court,” said
Ganguly. “The obvious abuse of the sedition law to silence Trivedi should be
the case that prompts the abolition of this law.”
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