The Supreme Court on June 3, 2021 quashed the sedition case registered against journalist Vinod Dua in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
- An FIR was filed against Dua by a local BJP leader over comments he made on his YouTube show criticising the central government.
- On the issue of protection of freedom of speech and expression of media personnel, the judgement said, “Every journalist is entitled to protection under the Kedar Nath Singh judgment (the famous verdict of 1962 on the scope and ambit of offence of sedition in the IPC).”
- The complainant had alleged that Dua had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using “deaths and terror attacks” to get votes, and the journalist was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 268 (public nuisance), 501 (printing matter known to be defamatory) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief).
- 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, criticism of the government cannot be labelled sedition.
- In 1953, Kedar Nath Singh, a member of the Forward Communist Party from Bihar, got into trouble after he took on the ruling Congress during a rally at Begusarai.
(Source: The Indian Express)
