Explained | India’s sedition law, its usage, and the opinions around it

On Monday, the Central government sought one more day to file a reply in plea challenging constitutional validity of the sedition charge under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code

Sedition is once again the subject of debate as the Supreme Court Court is hearing pleas challenging it. The pleas filed by the Editors Guild of India and Major General (Retired) S.G. Vombatkere state that the law causes a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech and is an unreasonable restriction on free expression, a fundamental right.

The apex court had first issued a notice to the Centre in July 2021 about the challenge to the legality of Section 124A Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises sedition. Later, on April 27, 2022, Supreme Court fixed May 5 for the final hearing of the petitions, stating that it will not brook any delay in the form of requests for adjournment. On May 2, the Centre stated that its draft reply is ready but is awaiting approval from ‘Competent Authority’.

As sedition comes under fire in the Supreme Court, here is a brief look at the law, punishment for it and its usage by governments.

Drafted by British historian-politician Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1837, sedition was defined as an act by ‘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’.

The Sedition charge, which was included in Section 124 A of the Indian penal code in 1870, was imposed by the British Colonial government to primarily suppress the writings and speeches of prominent Indian freedom fighters. Writings of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, and Jogendra Chandra Bose were suppressed and they were tried under sedition law for their comments on the British rule.

As per section 124A, sedition is a non-bailable offence, punishable with imprisonment from three years up to life, along with a fine. The person charged under this law is also barred from a government job and their passport is seized by the government. Incidentally, the sedition charge was abolished by the United Kingdom in 2010.

According to Law Commission of India’s 2018 report, while framing the Constitution, the Constituent Assembly had opposed inclusion of sedition as a restriction on freedom of speech and expression under the then-Article 13. It saw the provision as a shadow of colonial times that should not see light of the day in free India. However, the offence remained under section 124A of the IPC.