The Meerut police on Thursday booked a group of Kashmiri students for sedition because they had cheered Pakistan’s victory over India in an Asia Cup match on Sunday. Hours later, these charges were withdrawn, but not before setting off a debate on the sedition law – as Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code is popularly known.
The British introduced the section into the Indian Penal Code in 1860 to deal with dissent in the country, the newest addition to their expanding empire. When the Indian Constitution was being drafted after Independence, this clause remained verbatim, only the references to the empire were updated for the republic.
A person convicted for sedition can get life imprisonment.
The National Crime Records Bureau does not maintain records for the number of people convicted under section 124A, but news reports over the years have propelled those cases involving people such as Hindu extremist Praveen Togadia, writer Arundhati Roy, Tamil politicial Vaiko and civil liberties activist Binayak Sen to the fore.
Here are five cases that have been in the news in the past few years.
Over 7,000 protestors in Koodankulam
Three thousand people protesting against the proposed Koodankulam nuclear plant in October 2011 found themselves accused of sedition. As only 20 people were named in the report and the rest declared "others", the whole village may find itself on trial. Meanwhile, the police has been consistently filing cases against more vocal protestors. At last count, they had filed as many as 7,619 cases of sedition.
Aseem Trivedi
The cartoonist from Kanpur was arrested in 2012 for his allegedly seditious sketches, one of which showed India being gang-raped by the bureaucracy, corruption and politicians. He also depicted politicians as blood-suckers feeding off the common man and drew the parliament building to resemble a toilet.
Soni Sori
The Chhattisgarh police have filed seven cases against the tribal teacher in 2011. She has been acquitted in two so far. The charges include being involved in a plot to blow up Essar trucks and setting a car on fire. She is also accused of sedition. Released on bail in 2014, she expressed a desire to contest elections with the Aam Aadmi Party. They did not give her a ticket.
Simranjit Singh Mann
Charged in 66 sedition cases and acquitted in 65, Simranjit Singh Mann, between performing his functions as the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, has spent the last 30 years fighting court cases. The charges have related to Mann calling freedom fighter Bhagat Singh a "petty terrorist", to allegations that Mann eulogised the killers of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Mann was acquitted in the 65th case in July. The 66th one is still under trial.
Andhra Pradesh MPs
Two weeks ago, a lawyer in Bihar demonstrated how easy it to accuse somebody of sedition by filing charges in a district court against 21 Andhra Pradesh MPs who had disrupted parliamentary proceedings with pepper spray. He said they had brought disrepute to democracy. The court is set to hear the case today.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
The British introduced the section into the Indian Penal Code in 1860 to deal with dissent in the country, the newest addition to their expanding empire. When the Indian Constitution was being drafted after Independence, this clause remained verbatim, only the references to the empire were updated for the republic.
A person convicted for sedition can get life imprisonment.
The National Crime Records Bureau does not maintain records for the number of people convicted under section 124A, but news reports over the years have propelled those cases involving people such as Hindu extremist Praveen Togadia, writer Arundhati Roy, Tamil politicial Vaiko and civil liberties activist Binayak Sen to the fore.
Here are five cases that have been in the news in the past few years.
Over 7,000 protestors in Koodankulam
Three thousand people protesting against the proposed Koodankulam nuclear plant in October 2011 found themselves accused of sedition. As only 20 people were named in the report and the rest declared "others", the whole village may find itself on trial. Meanwhile, the police has been consistently filing cases against more vocal protestors. At last count, they had filed as many as 7,619 cases of sedition.
Aseem Trivedi
The cartoonist from Kanpur was arrested in 2012 for his allegedly seditious sketches, one of which showed India being gang-raped by the bureaucracy, corruption and politicians. He also depicted politicians as blood-suckers feeding off the common man and drew the parliament building to resemble a toilet.
Soni Sori
The Chhattisgarh police have filed seven cases against the tribal teacher in 2011. She has been acquitted in two so far. The charges include being involved in a plot to blow up Essar trucks and setting a car on fire. She is also accused of sedition. Released on bail in 2014, she expressed a desire to contest elections with the Aam Aadmi Party. They did not give her a ticket.
Simranjit Singh Mann
Charged in 66 sedition cases and acquitted in 65, Simranjit Singh Mann, between performing his functions as the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, has spent the last 30 years fighting court cases. The charges have related to Mann calling freedom fighter Bhagat Singh a "petty terrorist", to allegations that Mann eulogised the killers of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Mann was acquitted in the 65th case in July. The 66th one is still under trial.
Andhra Pradesh MPs
Two weeks ago, a lawyer in Bihar demonstrated how easy it to accuse somebody of sedition by filing charges in a district court against 21 Andhra Pradesh MPs who had disrupted parliamentary proceedings with pepper spray. He said they had brought disrepute to democracy. The court is set to hear the case today.
