Sedition is termed as an incitement or insurrection against lawful authority. Sedition was first found during British rule in India. In the Indian Constitution, IPC 124A talks about sedition. It says “whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment of life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine”. But today, Sedition is a weapon against the freedom of speech and expression which is guaranteed by the same constitution under the fundamental rights. In January 2021, five journalists from different parts of the states were charged with sedition for writing about the farmer’s death in the tractor rally conducted following the Farmer’s bill. Also, the sedition charged on the 21 year old Disha Ravi, who was an environment activist and a student for disseminating a toolkit on the farmers protest in the farmer’s law. In another case, from the Jharkhand’s Pathalgadi movement of 2017, more than 10000 Adivasi from Khunti district peoples were charged with sedition for their protest on the ordinance of transferring their land for commercial purposes.
It is only three of the cases among the hundreds. There have been a lot of them facing the laws for raising their voice for others and for themselves. The law IPC 124A was given a special consideration by the Supreme Court in June 2021, which quashed the FIR registered by the Himachal Pradesh police on an alleged case against journalist Vinod Dua for his critical comment on the Government handling Youtube channel. The Supreme Court stressed that “a citizen has a right to criticize or comment upon the measures undertaken by the Government and its functionaries, so long as he does not incite people to violence against the Government established by law.
Sedition cannot be a weapon for the government to suppress the voice of commoners. According to the NCRB report of 2022, there were 548 people arrested under 124A of the IPC, out of six who were only convicted. As living in a democracy and as a citizen of our country we have the complete right to live peacefully with the guarantee of fundamental rights. And as a democratic responsible citizens, we all have the same rights to point out our needs to live as dignified citizens of the country without facing any discrimination.
References
Section Details. (n.d.). India Code: Section Details. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_5_23_00037_186045_1523266765688 &orderno=133 Srivastava, R. K. (2022, May 11). From Disha Ravi to Arundhati Roy, Supreme Court's sedition ruling to impact several high-profile cases. Zee News. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://zeenews.india.com/india/from-disha-ravi-to-arundhati-roy-supreme-courts-sedition-rulingto-impact-several-high-profile-cases-2462606.html SC quashes sedition case against Vinod Dua. (2021, June 3). Tribune India. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/sc-quashes-sedition-case-against-vinod-dua-262798 Vinod Dua sedition case: Journalists can't be arrested just for criticising govt, Supreme Court says | India News. (2021, June 4). Times of India. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/journalists-cant-be-arrested-just-for-criticising-govt-supr eme-court/articleshow/83222172.cms