Law Commission Backs Sedition Law; Says It Should be Retained with Changes

New Delhi: The Law Commission has strongly supported the continuation of the sedition law but has said that should be retained with changes linked to the circumstances of its use.

Repealing the law – Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code – would be to “turn a blind eye to the glaring ground realities existing in India,” the Commission has said in its report to the government.

The Commission recommended that the punishment for sedition should be increased from three years in jail to a life term or up to seven years in prison.

The sedition law was challenged before the Supreme Court. Last year the apex court suspended criminal trials and court proceedings under the law while allowing the government to reexamine it. The Union government then asked the Law Commission to review the law.

The Law Commission, in its report, says repealing the sedition law altogether can have “serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country, with the subversive forces getting a free hand to further their sinister agenda as a consequence.

The report recommends amendments to add safeguards before the filing of a sedition case. It suggests that an FIR for the offense of sedition should be registered only after a preliminary inquiry by a police officer not below the rank of Inspector and after permission from the Central or State government.

It is imperative to lay down procedural guidelines for curbing misuse of the sedition law, but any allegation of misuse does not by implication warrant calls to scrap it, the Law Commission says.

 

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