India’s Supreme Court has allowed centre to review the country’s sedition law and said that no case will be registered under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code until the process is completed.

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What is sedition and what is the sedition law?

IPC 124A defines sedition as every speech or expression that “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India.” It is a criminal offence punishable with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Statement: Sedition — 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 103 [India], shall be punished with 104 [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.

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Explanation/s:

1) According to the section, disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

2) Comments expressing disapprobation of the meas­ures of the Government with a view to obtaining their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

3) Comments expressing disapprobation of the admin­istrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

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Sedition has been under debate for a long time. The State has often used Section 124A of the IPC against activists, detractors, writers and cartoonists, seeking to curb dissent.

The topic of sedition came into focus in 2016 after three students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University were arrested for allegedly raising anti-national slogans. The list of people booked for sedition includes Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Kudankulam anti-nuclear activist SP Udayakumar, folk singer S. Kovan and political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi.

Notable cases:

KedarNath Singh Vs State of Bihar, 1962 and the Maneka Gandhi judgment are some well-known cases of sedition.