Basic understanding of Law: Sedition

Introduction

Law on Sedition has gained importance these days because of change in politics and also because of the Right of Freedom of Speech and Expression as guaranteed by Art 19(1)(A) of Constitution of India. The Law on Sedition is enshrined under Sections 124A and 153A of the Indian Penal Code and also under other Statues.

Section124A of the Indian Penal Code, deals with the offence of Sedition. The Section is enshrined under Chapter VI of the Penal Code, which specifically deals with offences which are committed against the State. Sedition as defined under Sec 124A of the Indian Penal Code is an offence against the state. The Section has a historical genesis as it has gone under legislative amendments and interpretations by Judiciary.

The provision of the law of sedition is based on the principle that every state has to be armed with a power to punish those who by their conduct put in situation of danger safety of state and its stability or disseminate a feeling of disloyalty.

Ingredients

There are three essentials that are required to be fulfilled in order to constitute the offence of sedition-

Firstly, bringing or attempting to bring into hatred or content or exciting disaffection towards Government of India.

Secondly, such act must be done by words or by visible representation or by sign.

Thirdly, the act must be intentional.

A plain reading of the section shows that application of the section will be attracted only when accused brings or attempts to bring hatred against the Government established by law by words or by visible representations or the efforts to bring hatred or contempt to excite or attempt to excite dissatisfaction towards the government established by law in India. If the accused intended by the articles to excite rebellion or disturbance, his act would undoubtedly fall under this section. Also, if he tried to excite feeling of hatred or contempt against the Government established by law, that will be sufficient to make him guilty under this offence.

Sedition is nothing but defamation of the Government which is established according to law. It generally means stirring up of rebellion against the government. In technical meaning it includes all those acts and practices which have object of exciting a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction towards the government or the constitution or parliament, creating public disturbance.

The second ingredient of the Section requires that the act must be done by words, either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representation. As per the second ingredient not only the writer of the seditious articles but whoever in any way words or printed matter for the purpose of exciting disaffection to the government is liable under this section.

In Pratap Urdu Daily of New Delhi, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has held that it is not necessary to constitute offence of sedition that the act done should be an act which is intended or likely to incite public disorder. In this case also, it is immaterial whether the appellant was having the mens rea of exciting people to commit national level communal riots.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nazir Khan V. State of Delhi held that sedition is a crime against the society and it is a comprehensive term and embraces all those practices whether by words, deed, or writing, which are calculated to disturb the tranquility of the state and lead ignorant persons to endeavor to subvert the Government and laws of the country.

Object

The objects of Sedition generally are to induce discontent and insurrection and stir up opposition to the government and bring administration of justice into contempt. The very tendency of sedition is to incite people to insurrection and rebellion. Sedition has been described as disloyalty in action, and the law considers all those practices as sedition which have for their object to excite discontent or dissatisfaction, to create public disturbance or to lead to civil war; to bring into hatred or contempt the Sovereign or the Government, the laws or the constitution of the realm, and generally all endeavours to promote public disorder.

There are certain explanations attached to the section for clarity of the provisions of the section and also for defining and limiting the scope of the Section. So the section don’t have any application unless the article in question, criticize the measures of Government or administrative or other action of Government without exciting the felling of dissatisfaction or hatred.

Punishment

The Section also provides for punishment for commission of the offence. As per the Section, the punishment for Sedition is life imprisonment with fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years added with fine. So the section provides for a wide range of punishment that can be given to the guilty person according to the level of offence and other factors like repetition of crime etc.

Schedule 1 puts this offence under the bracket of Cognizable and Non-Bailable offences. So when a complaint or FIR is filled or Police Officer receives information about commission of offence of Sedition, then he can take Cognizance of the offence and start with investigation and also can arrest the person so accused of the crime. Also case under this section is a Non-Bailable one and is to be exclusively tried by Court of Session.

[Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)]

Q. When Law on Sedition was amended?

A. The current Law on Sedition was added under the Code in 1898 by way on an amendment and later minor amendments were brought in 1937, 1948, 1950 and 1951.

[The author, Kanav Gupta is a third-year B.A.L.L.B(H) student at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIPU, Delhi.]

• Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (G.C. Merriam Co., USA)
• Pratap Urdu Daily of New Delhi (1949) 2 Punj 348
• Nazir Khan V. State of Delhi AIR 2003 SC 4427