The Government of India (GoI) has told the Supreme Court in a note on May 7 that a 1962 Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Vs State of Bihar Case, which upheld the validity of the sedition law, must be treated as a binding precedent that has withstood the test of time.
- This note comes in response to the petitioners who have said that the Kedarnath judgment had considered sedition in terms of Freedom of Speech, however the fresh challenge to Sedition law is under provisions of Article 14 and 21, which had not been considered earlier.
About Section 124A of IPC
- Section 124A says a person commits the crime of sedition, if he/she brings or attempts to bring in hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the government established by law in India.
- It can be by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise.
- It prescribes the maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
About Kedar Nath Vs State of Bihar Case
- The six-decade-old verdict of a five-judge Bench had allowed Section 124A (sedition) to continue to be part of the Indian Penal Code though it limited its applicability to “activities involving incitement to violence or intention or tendency to create public disorder or cause disturbance of public peace”.
- In the landmark 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the sedition law, it attempted to restrict its scope for misuse.
- The court held that unless accompanied by an incitement or call for violence or intention or tendency to create public disorder or cause disturbance of public peace, criticism of the government cannot be labelled sedition.
- The note by the centre said the Kedar Nath verdict is “good law”. Instances of abuse of Section 124A did not justify reconsideration of a binding judgment upholding the sedition law.
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