Sedition To Be Repealed Says Home Minister, New IPC Bill Criminalizes ‘Subversive Activities’ Threatening Unity And Integrity Of Nation

The elimination of Section 124A of the current Indian Penal Code, which deals with the very ill-defined offense of “sedition,” is one of the major reforms suggested in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. This section is frequently misused.

The law proposed still calls for severe penalties for “secessionist, armed rebellion, and subversive activities” that threaten the unity and integrity of the nation.

The proposal does make an effort to distinguish between criticism and nonviolent protests against the central government and sabotage, secession, and armed revolt against the Indian state. As per an official, the new law would be referred to as “deshdroh” (treason), not “rajdroh”.

The current version of the much-abused sedition legislation carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison or a life sentence, with an additional fine. The proposed law would punish offenses with either a life sentence in jail or a sentence of up to seven years in prison and fine included.

Currently, Section 124A of IPC defines sedition as an offence committed when “any person 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”, which was ambiguous and used by police personnel to clamp down critics of governments of all stripes.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, the law to replace sedition proposes that whoever, by words, signs, electronic communication or by use of financial means, excites or “attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished…”.

The sedition clause shouldn’t exist in a democracy like India, said home minister Amit Shah on Friday while announcing the government’s plan to eliminate Section 124A entirely. “Everybody has the right and freedom to speak his or her mind,” he stated.

The desire to repeal the sedition legislation, which is criticized by many and frequently used by governments to stifle dissent and freedom of speech, has generated debates subject of various court cases.

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