The Law Commission on sedition
5 years, 11 months ago

The Law Commission on sedition

The Hindu  

In a consultation paper released last year, the Law Commission said: “In a democracy, singing from the same songbook is not a benchmark of patriotism. “While it is essential to protect national integrity, it should not be misused as a tool to curb free speech. Therefore, every restriction on free speech and expression must be carefully scrutinised to avoid unwarranted restrictions. “In order to study revision of section 124A further, the following issues would require consideration:

Free Speech Policy Issues  speech  seditious  commission  free  right  criticism  public  law  country  order  policy  issues  sedition

History of this topic

Need To Educate Police About Freedom Of Speech, They Must Be Sensitised About Democratic Values : Supreme Court
10 months, 1 week ago

Need To Educate Police About Freedom Of Speech, They Must Be Sensitised About Democratic Values : Supreme Court

Live Law  

While quashing a criminal case against a professor for his WhatsApp status criticising the abrogation of Article 370, the Supreme Court on Thursday made a critical observation about the need to educate law enforcement on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution, as well as the extent of reasonable restraint on such freedoms. However, …

Law Commission’s Report on Sedition Ignores Free Speech Law and Indian Colonial History
1 year, 7 months ago

Law Commission’s Report on Sedition Ignores Free Speech Law and Indian Colonial History

Live Law  

The Law Commission of India released its 279th Report on ‘Usage of the Law of Sedition”. This argument is buttressed by a 2016 paper by philosophy professor Arudra Burra that problematizes the idea of the colonial nature of Indian law by asserting that the colonial origin of laws are “normatively neutral”. While the British government faced threats to its stability …

End the debate: The Hindu Editorial on the Law Commission’s recommendation on sedition
1 year, 7 months ago

End the debate: The Hindu Editorial on the Law Commission’s recommendation on sedition

The Hindu  

The Law Commission’s recommendation that the offence of sedition be retained in penal law, albeit with some safeguards, flies in the face of current judicial and political thinking that the country may not need this colonial vestige any more. Section 124A of the IPC, which describes sedition, seeks to punish speech or writing that brings or tries to bring into …

'Protect free speech... not thin skin': Police told to focus on 'tackling serious crimes'
1 year, 10 months ago

'Protect free speech... not thin skin': Police told to focus on 'tackling serious crimes'

Daily Mail  

Police must prioritise freedom of speech over people taking offence under long-awaited rules unveiled today. Officers will be told in the fresh Home Office guidance to stop recording trivial online arguments and playground spats as ‘non-crime hate incidents’. Last night Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: ‘I have been deeply concerned about reports of the police wrongly getting involved in lawful …

No specific law against hate speech: Election Commission
2 years, 4 months ago

No specific law against hate speech: Election Commission

The Hindu  

The Election Commission of India in the Supreme Court has said that due to the lack of a specific law against hate speech and rumour mongering during polls, it has to resort to the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of People Act to ensure that members of political parties do not make statements which can create disharmony among sections …

Should Pleas Against Sedition Law Be Referred to a Larger Bench? SC to Examine
2 years, 8 months ago

Should Pleas Against Sedition Law Be Referred to a Larger Bench? SC to Examine

The Quint  

Article 19 of the Constitution deals with Freedom of Speech and Expression. 19 says: Nothing in sub clause of clause shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub clause in the interests …

"Misguided One Community With Resentment, Hatred Towards Others:": Delhi Court On Framing Sedition Charges Against Sharjeel Imam
2 years, 11 months ago

"Misguided One Community With Resentment, Hatred Towards Others:": Delhi Court On Framing Sedition Charges Against Sharjeel Imam

Live Law  

"Prima facie, the religious groups are sought to be divided on emotive issues and one community is sought to be guided in a particular way of resentment, ill­will and hatred towards others which can then be remedied by a plan of action which will result in violence," said a Delhi Court while framing sedition charges against Sharjeel Imam. The Court …

"Misguided One Community With Resentment, Hatred Towards Others:": Delhi Court On Framing Sedition Charges Against Sharjeel Imam
2 years, 11 months ago

"Misguided One Community With Resentment, Hatred Towards Others:": Delhi Court On Framing Sedition Charges Against Sharjeel Imam

Live Law  

"Prima facie, the religious groups are sought to be divided on emotive issues and one community is sought to be guided in a particular way of resentment, ill­will and hatred towards others which can then be remedied by a plan of action which will result in violence," said a Delhi Court while framing sedition charges against Sharjeel Imam. The Court …

Hate speech a criminal act, higher echelons of ruling party endorsing it: Former SC judge
2 years, 11 months ago

Hate speech a criminal act, higher echelons of ruling party endorsing it: Former SC judge

India Today  

Expressing concern over increasing incidents of hate speech, former Supreme Court judge, Justice Rohinton Nariman said it was a criminal act and suggested that Parliament should amend provisions to give minimum sentences to those guilty of it. On the other hand, you have persons giving hate speech -- calling for genocide, and we find great reluctance among some of the …

Overdue review: The Hindu Editorial on the sedition law
3 years, 5 months ago

Overdue review: The Hindu Editorial on the sedition law

The Hindu  

It is gratifying to note that the Supreme Court, while indicating its intention to reconsider the sedition provision in the Indian Penal Code, has raised the question most relevant to the issue: “ Why does Section 124A continue in the statute book even after 75 years of independence? The issues flagged by the Chief Justice of India may set the …

Amid the pandemic, censorship in India can be dangerous
4 years, 8 months ago

Amid the pandemic, censorship in India can be dangerous

Al Jazeera  

India is fighting on two fronts right now – the global pandemic and an escalating humanitarian crisis of millions of migrant workers battling hunger and homelessness due to the lockdown. In 1897, during the outbreak of the bubonic plague in India, a prominent freedom fighter, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, became the first person to be convicted for an act of sedition …

Sedition Law Used To Curb Political Dissent : Law Commission Calls For Relook On Sec 124A IPC
6 years, 4 months ago

Sedition Law Used To Curb Political Dissent : Law Commission Calls For Relook On Sec 124A IPC

Live Law  

"For merely expressing a thought that is not in consonance with the policy of the Government of the day, a person should not be charged under the section", stated the Consultation Paper issued by the Law Commission of India calling for redefinition of sedition, which is made punishable by Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Commission headed …

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