Justice Rohinton Nariman, the former Supreme Court judge, urged the Apex Court to strike down the Sedition Law and some rules of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA.)
On the 10th of October, Justice R. Nariman said, the Section 124A Sedition Law of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalises sedition should be struck down. He even questioned the UAPA Act and its laws, making freedom of speech and expression, a criminal offence with strict laws.
During an event, Mr. Nariman said, “I would exhort the Supreme Court to not send sedition law cases pending before it back to the Centre. Governments will come and go (but) it is important for the court to use its power and strike down Section 124A and an offensive portion of UAPA. Then citizens here would breathe more freely.” He further said, “We had the China and Pakistan wars. Thereafter, we introduced draconian legislation– UAPA. Disaffection continues in the statute book and UAPA is a draconian act as it has no anticipatory bail and has a minimum of five years imprisonment. This act is not under the scanner yet. This too has to be looked into along with the sedition law.”
In the past few years, many student union leaders and protestors against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been charged under the UAPA Act, for voicing and expressing their opinion against the ruling Government. The number of cases under the UAPA Act, increased during the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests and Delhi Riots in 2020. Under the UAPA, arrest without any warrant, based on doubt is done. It is also a non bailable offence with minimum 5 years imprisonment.
Many youth leaders were arrested under the Act, giving no hope of bail, and years of jail term. In addition, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data, sedition cases had risen by 163% between 2014 and 2019 while conviction rate remained at a measly 3%. This shows how the Sedition Law is being used to shut down the opposition and press freedom with the convenience of the Government.
Highlighting the introduction of the Sedition Law the colonial era, Mr. Nariman said the British Government introduced the law to silence the voices of 1940s freedom fighters, who would speak against the colonial government.
Mr. Nariman also said, India ranks 142nd in the global law index “because of the draconian and colonial laws that still exist.” He also said, recently two journalists from Philippines and Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize for peace. He said, “The Nobel Peace Prize was given to two journalists from the Philippines. India’s rank there was 142…Why? This is more to do with India’s bank of colonial laws.”
According to the former SC Judge, with the Sedition Law and UAPA, freedom of expression is still a question. With still following the colonial era law, India is said to be ranking low (142) in the Law Index, even after it is the world’s largest democracy.
Upon hearing the request of Mr. R. Nariman, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana assured to look into the plea to strike down the Sedition Law and offensive rules of the UAPA Act.
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