“Now so far as I am concerned that particular Section (124A IPC) is highly objectionable and obnoxious and it should have no place both for practical and historical reasons, if you like, in any body of laws that we might pass. The sooner we get rid of it the better… We might deal with that matter in other ways, in more limited ways, as every other country does but that particular thing, as it is, should have no place, because all of us have had enough experience of it in variety of ways and apart from the logic of the situation, our urges are against it.” - Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India
A case against the infamous Sedition Law Sedition is an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and is defined under section 124A as follows: 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 India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA - Status Report 2021 by IAMC
be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine. The origin of the law of sedition is buried in India’s colonial past dating back to the 19th century, it was enacted in 1870 by the British.1 Abolished in England decades ago,2 it has been misused, more so, after Independence, as a tool by the police to quash democratic dissent. The 13
