India Reviews Controversial Colonial-Era Sedition Law - Bloomberg
The Indian government is re-examining the provisions of the controversial sedition law, setting the stage for a possible dilution of rules, which rights activists say has been used to curb free speech.
It informed the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that concerns of civil liberties and human rights had prompted a rethink on the law, according to people familiar with the matter, who didn’t wish to be named because the government’s filing in the Supreme Court isn’t public. They were hearing petitions challenging the colonial-era law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has come under criticism for abuse of the sedition law, which makes getting bail harder. Data compiled by Article 14, a group run by journalists, lawyers and academics, in February showed that 96% of sedition cases filed against Indians between 2010 and 2021, were after 2014, when the Modi government came to power.
A relic of the British colonial government once used against Mahatma Gandhi, India’s 19th-century sedition statute gives police broad powers to make arrests ahead of filing formal charges if an act or speech “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government.” The maximum penalty can be a life term in prison.
The government requested the top court to defer its hearing till an appropriate forum in the government takes a decision.
During a hearing in the case last week, the top court’s judges said they will consider sending the case to a constitution bench of five or more judges. India’s Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had said his views may be different from the government’s and called for guidelines of its use. A spokesman for the home ministry didn’t comment on the filing.
source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-09/india-is-said-to-review-controversial-colonial-era-sedition-law
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