Section 124A Of The IPC Dealing With Sedition Needs To Be Retained: Law Commission

The Law Commission has said it is of the considered view that Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code dealing with sedition needs to be retained, though certain amendments could be introduced to bring about greater clarity regarding usage of the provision.

In its report submitted to the government, the panel said cognizant of the views on the misuse of Section 124A, it recommends that model guidelines curbing them be issued by the Centre.

"In this context, it is also alternatively suggested that a provision analogous to Section 196(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) may be incorporated as a proviso to Section 154 of CrPC, which would provide the requisite procedural safeguard before filing of a FIR with respect to an offence under Section 124A of IPC," chairman of the 22nd Law Commission Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi (retd) said in his covering letter to Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

While it is imperative to lay down certain procedural guidelines for curbing any misuse of Section 124A of the IPC dealing with sedition by law enforcement authorities, any allegation of misuse of the provision does not by implication warrant a call for its repeal, the report said.

The Commission said sedition being a "colonial legacy" is not a valid ground for its repeal.

In its report submitted to Meghwal, the Law Commission also said the existence of laws such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the National Security Act does not by implication cover all elements of the offence envisaged under Section 124A of the IPC.

"Further, in the absence of a provision like Section 124A of IPC, any expression that incites violence against the government would invariably be tried under the special laws and counterterror legislations, which contain much more stringent provisions to deal with the accused," the report "Usage of the Law of Sedition" said.

It observed that each country's legal system grapples with its own different set of realities.

"Repealing Section 124A of IPC on the mere basis that certain countries have done so is essentially turning a blind eye to the glaring ground realities existing in India," it said. In his covering letter, Justice Awasthi recalled that the constitutionality of Section 124A was challenged before the Supreme Court.

"(The) Union of India assured the Supreme Court that it was reexamining Section 124A and the court may not invest its valuable time in doing the same."

Pursuant to the same, the top court directed the central government and all the state governments to refrain from registering any FIR or taking any coercive measures, while suspending all continuing investigations in relation to Section 124A.