Sedition Law: Law Commission submits report to Central Government, recommends retaining section 124A of IPC including increase in punishment
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- June 2, 2023
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Sedition Law: Law Commission submits report to Central Government, recommends retaining section 124A of IPC including increase in punishment
The 22nd Law Commission has recommended the retention of section 124A of the IPC making sedition an offence, with some amendments.
The 22nd Law Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, in its report submitted to the Central Government, has recommended retention of Section 124A of IPC with some modifications for greater clarity in its usage.
At present, there is a provision of life imprisonment or 3 years for the offense under section 124A, but the commission has suggested to increase the imprisonment of 3 years to 7 years.
In this context, Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Chairman of the Commission has suggested a provision to be added to Section 154 of the CrPC like Section 196(3) of the CrPC which lays down the necessary procedural steps before registering an FIR in an offense under Section 124A.
In its report, the commission has rejected the argument that Section 124A is violative of Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, saying that the allegation of misuse of any law cannot be the basis for withdrawing it. And similarly having a colonial legacy is also not a valid ground to withdraw it because the entire structure of the Indian legal system is a colonial legacy.
According to the commission, laws such as the Unlawful Activities Act (UAPA) and the National Security Act (NSA) do not cover all the elements of the offense envisaged under section 124A.
The commission has said in its report that the provision cannot be withdrawn merely on the ground that some countries have done so as the legal system of each country deals with different circumstances and realities.
It is noteworthy that instead of taking a decision on the constitutional validity of Section 124A, a three-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice NV Ramana had put it in cold storage on 11 May 2022.
