NEED OF SEDITION LAW IN PRESENT DAY INDIA

The law of sedition was introduced by the Colonial Government to suppress the voices
ofIndians against them. But now, the Colonial Government has gone; India is an
independentcountry. So do we still need sedition law? If yes, then for whom? And if no, then
on whatgrounds?The Indian pledge starts with; India is my country. All Indians are my
brothers and sisters, butthese lines have an exception, not all Indians are united. There are
some people within the
country who can’t see the country growing, who don’t want peace, who want to break the
unity and integrity of the nation. Accordingly, we need sedition laws for such people for
incitingtheir fellow citizens against their motherland.Recently in 2016, we have seen cases
where one single man was successful in gathering acrowd of hundreds just by abusing the
nation and calling for its breakdown. Such incidentsmake us more willing to think that
sedition law is needed even in the Independent India.To support this point we can consider
the case of Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students
Union and other students. This man named Kanhaiya wasstanding on a bench in the unive
rsity’s campus and was shouting “BHARAT TERE TUKDE
HONGE,
( 
INDIA WILL BE IN PIECES
 )
” and many such anti
-national slogans which were attractingthe people of his mentality to his side. A case of
sedition against this man and several unknownstudents was lodged at Vasant Kunj (North)
police station after the Home Minister Rajnath
Singh talked to then Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi and released a statement: “If
anyone
raises anti-
Indian slogans, tries to raise questions on the country’s unity and integri
ty, they will
not be spared.”
The enactment of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 seeks to suppress and eliminate all
last forms of resistance in society. Such a propensity runs counter to the intrinsic characteristics of
democracy. The presence of such a provision in a progressive state like India appears to be
redundant. The severity of the penalty makes the provision harsh. The continuation of such a clause
chills freedom of speech and expression, which is supposedly a fundamental right guaranteed by
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. There is a need for India to evolve and change its sedition
laws to keep up with the changing needs of society.
Most recently, on May 11, the Supreme Court directed the Union government and the states to
refrain from using the law of sedition and keep all previous cases under 124A in abeyance till the
matter is reconsidered in a comprehensive way. In the context of the evolved reality around us, if we
are to improve the democratic foundations of our country, there must not be any space for sedition.
Dissent, criticism and differences of opinion are vital for the functioning of any democracy. The
witch-hunting of those who question the government of the day reminds us of medieval times and
totalitarian rulers. It is time we usher in an era of free speech. For that, the sedition law must go.