Muffled voices
5 years, 11 months ago

Muffled voices

The Hindu  

T he space for dissent in Tamil Nadu, a supposedly progressive State, has shrunk to a significant extent. Early morning intrusions and late night arrests from our homes and fields are making Tamil Nadu an authoritarian State.” Draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities Act, the Goondas’ Act and Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code, which allow peremptory detention, come in handy for the rulers. The folk singer Kovan was arrested around 2.30 a.m. under the sedition law on November 1, 2015, for criticising Chief Minister Jayalalithaa through his folk songs on the state-run liquor outlets. On the basis of a complaint from the Tamil Nadu State BJP leader, Tamilisai Soundararajan, who was travelling on the flight that day, the police registered cases under Sections 505 and 290 of the IPC and 75 of the Madras City Police Act, 1888. A sedition case was registered against Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko by the Chennai police for his speech in support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Chennai in 2009.

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History of this topic

Criminalising words: on allegedly divisive speeches
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Criminalising words: on allegedly divisive speeches

The Hindu  

The grant of sanction to prosecute writer-activist Arundhati Roy and academician Sheikh Showkat Hussain for alleged “unlawful activity” in a case dating back to 2010 is unwarranted. Saxena, who had accorded sanction in October 2023 to prosecute the Booker Prize-winning writer and the former Kashmir University professor, respectively, for allegedly divisive speeches and imputations against national unity, has now given …

SC to hear pleas challenging constitutional validity of sedition law
2 years ago

SC to hear pleas challenging constitutional validity of sedition law

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Nearly seven months after putting on hold the law on sedition, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the colonial-era penal law on Monday when the Centre is likely to apprise it of the developments, if any, made while re-examining the provision. In a path-breaking order, the top court had on May 11 …

Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging constitutional validity of sedition law
2 years ago

Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging constitutional validity of sedition law

The Hindu  

Nearly seven months after putting on hold the law on sedition, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the colonial-era penal law on Wednesday when the Centre is likely to apprise it of the developments, if any, made while re-examining the provision. In a path-breaking order, the top court had on May 11 last year …

‘Everyone is self-censoring’: Vrinda Grover
2 years, 6 months ago

‘Everyone is self-censoring’: Vrinda Grover

The Hindu  

Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover has been associated with cases that champion human rights and women’s rights — from representing rape victims of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots to victims of religion-driven hate crimes. Currently, Grover is representing one of the petitions filed in the Supreme Court by journalists Patricia Mukhim and Anuradha Bhasin, asking for the sedition law to be …

Explained: How successive state and central governments have defended sedition law in the past
2 years, 8 months ago

Explained: How successive state and central governments have defended sedition law in the past

Firstpost  

From the Aseem Trivedi case of 2012 to the Rana couple incident of 2022, different parties have used the contentious legislation and defended it, despite opposition from other corners After calling sedition a “good law” and telling the Supreme Court that there was no need to strike it down, the Centre on Monday climbed down from its previous stance, saying …

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 …

SC to hear pleas to scrap the sedition law today: Explaining the British-era offence and how it's being 'misused'
2 years, 8 months ago

SC to hear pleas to scrap the sedition law today: Explaining the British-era offence and how it's being 'misused'

Firstpost  

The Apex court last year had asked the Centre why it was not repealing the colonial-era law used by the British to silence people like Mahatma Gandhi to suppress the freedom movement, as it expressed concern over the misuse of the provision A Supreme Court bench is scheduled to hear on Wednesday a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity …

"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 …

Anti-CAA protests: Sharjeel Imam denies inciting violence with speech, says 'cannot be hammered' with sedition
3 years, 4 months ago

Anti-CAA protests: Sharjeel Imam denies inciting violence with speech, says 'cannot be hammered' with sedition

Firstpost  

During the hearing, advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, representing Imam, apprised Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, that no part of his speech called for any kind of violence to be initiated New Delhi: JNU student Sharjeel Imam, arrested for allegedly making inflammatory speeches during the protests against CAA and NRC, told a Delhi court on Monday that he cannot be hammered …

"Showing Protest Is Hallmark Of Democracy": Madras HC Quashes Sedition Case Against Two For Distributing Hand Bills In 2018 Anti-Sterlite Protest
3 years, 5 months ago

"Showing Protest Is Hallmark Of Democracy": Madras HC Quashes Sedition Case Against Two For Distributing Hand Bills In 2018 Anti-Sterlite Protest

Live Law  

Observing that showing protest, being a fundamental right, is a hallmark of democracy, the Madras High Court recently quashed criminal case against two persons booked under sedition for distributing hand bills against the Centre and State Government in relation to the 2018 Anti-Sterlite Protest.Justice M. Nirmal Kumar was dealing with a petition seeking quashing of the criminal case against. Observing …

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 …

SC to Examine Validity of Sedition Law After PIL Calls it Unconstitutional, Seeks Centre's Response
3 years, 8 months ago

SC to Examine Validity of Sedition Law After PIL Calls it Unconstitutional, Seeks Centre's Response

News 18  

The Supreme Court Friday sought response from the Centre on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of sedition law. A bench Justice U U Lalit, Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice KM Joseph were hearing a plea challenging section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which penalises the crime of sedition. The petition also argued that the vagueness of Section …

Supreme Court agrees to hear plea challenging sedition law
3 years, 8 months ago

Supreme Court agrees to hear plea challenging sedition law

India Today  

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the legal validity of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that deals with the offence of sedition. The sedition law has been challenged by two journalists -- Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha from Manipur and Kanhaiya Lal Shukla from Chhattisgarh -- on the grounds that the law violates the fundamental right of …

A colonial relic: The Hindu Editorial on need to scrap sedition law
3 years, 10 months ago

A colonial relic: The Hindu Editorial on need to scrap sedition law

The Hindu  

A sessions court in Delhi has affirmed the belief that a dispassionate scrutiny of outlandish claims by the police is necessary for protecting the liberty of those jailed on flimsy, often political, reasons. Rejecting the purported evidence presented by the Delhi Police against climate change activist Disha Ravi, as “scanty and sketchy”, Judge Dharmender Rana has granted bail to the …

Dissent Deliberately Stifled as Terrorism: Sonia Gandhi Hits Out at Modi Govt, Warns Democracy at Crossroads
4 years, 2 months ago

Dissent Deliberately Stifled as Terrorism: Sonia Gandhi Hits Out at Modi Govt, Warns Democracy at Crossroads

News 18  

Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has attacked the Modi government for what she called “targeting political opponents and civil society members” and cautioned that the world’s largest democracy was at the crossroads as “dissent was stifled as terrorism or branded anti-national activity”. The opposition leader said that the Indian state had diverted attention from the …

UP CM decries 'politicisation' of Hathras gangrape, gives SIT 10 more days to file report; Kerala journalist charged with sedition
4 years, 3 months ago

UP CM decries 'politicisation' of Hathras gangrape, gives SIT 10 more days to file report; Kerala journalist charged with sedition

Firstpost  

Several Dalit leaders, meanwhile, have expressed concern over the course of investigation based on media reports and have demanded a court-monitored probe. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday accused the Opposition of tryign to disturb the social harmony while doing politics over the “dead bodies of the poor”. Yogi slams Opposition for adding caste-religion angle to case Speaking …

Centre targetting anti-CAA, NRC protesters in false cases, says Umar Khalid in pre-recorded message
4 years, 3 months ago

Centre targetting anti-CAA, NRC protesters in false cases, says Umar Khalid in pre-recorded message

Firstpost  

Khalid, in his video message alleged that the Delhi Police has been registering false cases against people who protested the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. In a video message recorded before his arrest in connection with the Delhi riots, former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid alleged that the Centre and the police are framing …

Open Letter Invokes Art 19, Misuse of Sedition Law & Delhi Riots
4 years, 6 months ago

Open Letter Invokes Art 19, Misuse of Sedition Law & Delhi Riots

The Quint  

Referring to what happened in Karnataka, it added: “When, as happened in Karnataka, in consequence of a school play critical of the CAA a primary school teacher and the mother of a student are charged with sedition and two young children aged 9 and 10 are questioned by police over many days, this becomes a theatre of the absurd. The …

Anti-CAA protests | Sharjeel Imam chargesheeted for giving seditious speech, says police
4 years, 8 months ago

Anti-CAA protests | Sharjeel Imam chargesheeted for giving seditious speech, says police

The Hindu  

Delhi Police, on Saturday, said that a supplementary charge sheet has been filed against Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam for giving seditious speech and abetting riots at Jamia Millia Islamia University. Randhawa said in an FIR registered in New Friends Colony that “Sharjeel Imam was arrested for instigating and abetting the Jamia riots, due to his seditious speech delivered …

Critics of India’s Modi government face sedition charges
4 years, 10 months ago

Critics of India’s Modi government face sedition charges

Associated Press  

NEW DELHI — Sharjeel Imam was a little-known research scholar and a student activist until Indian police launched a manhunt across five states to nab him for a protest speech he gave calling for a month-long road blockade in the county’s northeast. In the wake of his speech, some leaders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party labeled Imam …

Day after closure of sedition case against 49 celebs, Bihar lawyer files protest petition, claims cops acted ‘under political pressure’
5 years, 3 months ago

Day after closure of sedition case against 49 celebs, Bihar lawyer files protest petition, claims cops acted ‘under political pressure’

Firstpost  

After the Bihar police ordered closure of the sedition case filed against 49 personalities, who had signed an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over rising incidents of mob lynching, the complainant on Thursday filed a ‘protest petition’ against the police Muzaffarpur: After the Bihar police ordered closure of the sedition case filed against 49 personalities, who had signed …

Activists, theatre artists in Jaipur protest over sedition case against 49 celebrities for open letter to Narendra Modi
5 years, 3 months ago

Activists, theatre artists in Jaipur protest over sedition case against 49 celebrities for open letter to Narendra Modi

Firstpost  

Activists condemned the filing of the sedition case against celebrities like Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap and Revathi Jaipur: Activists, theatre artists and filmmakers staged a protest in the Pink city on Monday over registration of a sedition case against 49 celebrities after they had expressed concern over rising incidents of mob lynching in an …

‘Pure Harassment’: Aparna Sen, Benegal React to Sedition Charges
5 years, 3 months ago

‘Pure Harassment’: Aparna Sen, Benegal React to Sedition Charges

The Quint  

Filmmakers Aparna Sen, Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan have expressed disappointment after a Muzaffarpur court ordered an FIR for sedition to be lodged against them and the other celebrities who wrote an open letter to PM Modi regarding the growing incidents of mob lynching, police said. The case was lodged after Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari passed an order …

Congress manifesto promises to do away with British-era sedition law
5 years, 9 months ago

Congress manifesto promises to do away with British-era sedition law

India Today  

Congress has promised to review and amend a host of laws, rules and regulations and among them is the contentious British-era law of Section 124A of IPC that defines sedition. Under the rules, laws and regulations section in the manifesto, Congress states, Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that has been misused and, in any event, has become …

Explainer: Sedition and its discontents
5 years, 11 months ago

Explainer: Sedition and its discontents

The Hindu  

What does Section 124-A of the IPC say? The section deals with the offence of sedition, a term that covers speech or writing, or any form of visible representation, which brings the government into hatred or contempt, or excites disaffection towards the government, or attempts to do so. However, it also says expressing disapproval of government measures or actions, with …

Shock arrests: on activists' arrest
6 years, 4 months ago

Shock arrests: on activists' arrest

The Hindu  

If the arrest of five prominent activists by the Pune police in a coordinated operation across four States has resulted in such indignation, it is because of the widespread suspicion that this is part of an orchestrated crackdown on political dissent. Namely, whether the arrests were the culmination of a legitimate probe into a Maoist plot, as the police claim, …

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