Editorial: Retrograde step

It is incongruous for a free democratic country to have a sedition law that fights its own citizens

Hyderabad: At a time when free speech is already under increasing threat, the Law Commission’s recommendation to retain the colonial-era sedition law is a retrograde step, fraught with serious consequences. What is more disconcerting is that the Commission has not only backed the draconian law but also suggested stricter punishments under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code dealing with sedition. In its 88-page report, the law panel lists predictable reasons for retaining the law — as a reasonable restriction on free speech, and as a necessary legal instrument in the face of threats to India’s internal security. It cites Maoist extremism, militancy, secessionist movements and ethnic conflict in the Northeast. This kind of formulation — pitting civil society against the nation — is problematic and raises several questions regarding the government’s commitment to fundamental democratic values. The law panel reasoned that the growth of social media has played a role in propagating radical thoughts against India, often instigated and facilitated by ‘adversarial foreign powers’. Ironically, the report comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the law and indicated that it would hear arguments in favour of striking down the colonial provision that has been misused by successive governments to curtail citizens’ freedom of expression. It is quite astonishing that the Law Commission dismisses apprehensions about the 130-year-old law going against the spirit of modern democracy with a counterargument that the entire framework of the Indian legal system is a colonial legacy. The report also suggested an increase in the minimum jail term for sedition offences from the present three years to seven years.

On the allegations of misuse, the panel lets the law off the hook but puts the blame on the police system. Unfortunately, the report has provided no additional safeguard to prevent the law’s abuse. This is a cause for concern as the BJP-led government is already using sedition as a tool to silence dissent. In recent times, there have been several instances of arbitrary and unjustified use of draconian provisions on ordinary citizens. The misuse of the sedition law has destroyed many lives. The Centre has been adopting an ambivalent approach to the issue of repealing this law. After initially defending it, the Centre told the apex court last year that it would review it. The Home Ministry had, in an affidavit, urged the SC to defer the hearing till it is reviewed by a competent forum. However, nothing short of scrapping the draconian law would do. It is incongruous for a liberal and free democratic country to have a sedition law that fights its own citizens. In fact, criticism of the government of the day is an essence of democracy and should not be viewed as an anti-national activity. It is time a national consensus was built in favour of repealing the sedition law.

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