The Chairman of the legislation Commission of India, Justice Rituraj Awasthi, said that the Sedition legislation is urgently required, and that they have investigated the utilisation of the law and that it is much needed given the present state of the nation.
“Sedition law is desperately needed.” We extensively investigated the problem of the application of Sedition legislation. We handed up our report to the authorities. We have said that it is critical in the current state of the nation for integrity and togetherness,” Justice Awasthi told ANI.
“From Kashmir to Kerala, and from Punjab to the North East, if you look at the situation, you’ll see it’s required for the country’s integrity,” he continued.
The Law Commission of India has recommended in its report to the Law Ministry that Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code dealing with Sedition be preserved in the Indian Penal Code with minor revisions to provide better clarity about the provision’s applicability.
According to the Law Commission report, “we further recommend that the scheme of punishment provided under the said section be amended to ensure that it is brought into parity with the other offences under Chapter VI of the IPC.”
Furthermore, given the opinions expressed about the abuse of Section 124A, the Commission advises that the Central Government provide model guidelines to prevent such usage. In this context, the Law Commission suggested in its report to the Law Ministry that a provision analogous to Section 196(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) be incorporated as a proviso to Section 154 of CrPC, which would provide the necessary procedural safeguard before filing a FIR with respect to an offence under Section 124A of IPC.
The reasons for these proposals have been discussed in depth in the attached Report, and the Commission is certain that implementing them would go a long way towards resolving the problems connected with the use of this provision, according to the report.
In the report titled “Usage of the Law of Sedition,” Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Chairperson of India’s 22nd Law Commission, noted, “We undertook a comprehensive study of the law relating to sedition and its usage in India, tracing its genesis and development.”
The Commission also examined the history of sedition in colonial and independent India, as well as the legislation on sedition in different jurisdictions and various rulings of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and High Courts on the topic.
According to the Law Commission Reporter, it received a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to investigate the application of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and make any necessary changes.
The legality of Section 124A of the IPC was challenged in court. The Union of India told the Supreme Court that it was re-examining Section 124A and that the Court should not waste its time doing so. In response, the Supreme Court, in a decision issued on May 11, 2022, asked the Central Government and all State Governments to desist from filing any FIRs or using any coercive measures, while also halting any ongoing investigations related to Section 124A.
It further ordered that all outstanding trials, appeals, and processes be postponed.
