Union Home Minister Amit Shah is speaking in the Lok Sabha on Friday about introducing three Criminal Law Reform Bills to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. The Sedition Act remains a criminal offense under a proposed Indian law introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday, albeit under a different name, with the penalty actually being increased.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Lok Sabha on Friday that one of the proposed legislations aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system would completely abolish the offense of sedition as prescribed under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), adding that the bill would sent to a parliamentary committee for discussion.
Old Section 124A IPC to Bharativa Nyaya Sanita Bill 2023 suggests
However, an analysis of the Bharativa Nyaya Sanita Bill 2023 suggests that the offense of sedition has been retained under the proposed bill with a new nomenclature and a broader definition of what will constitute “acts threatening the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India” although it removes the words “dissatisfaction with the government established by law in India” from the old Section 124A IPC.
While the new provision, listed as Section 150 of the Bill, is more specific than the old one and directly targets secessionism, separatism and incitement to armed rebellion – without using the words “contempt” or “hatred” against the Government of India (as in Section 124A) it leaves wide scope for interpretation by not including the test of incitement to violence in the proposed provision, nor connecting the act to public order.
Proposed Section 150 continues to criminalize any act that “incites or attempts to incite” separatist activities or “incites feelings of separatist activities”, instead of making incitement to violence or public disorder a condition precedent to charges.
In addition, Section 150 in the 2023 bill punishes a person who “indulges in or commits any such act,” giving law enforcement more discretion over what can be included in a law that “endangers the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India’ for the purpose of laying charges.
Significantly, Article 19(2) provides that the State may frame any law to impose reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression “in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India”, meaning that the proposed law seeks to derive its authority and justification from this constitutional provision.
Section 150 reads: “Whoever intentionally or knowingly, by words, spoken or written, or signs, or visible representation, or electronic communication or using financial means or otherwise, incites or attempts to incite, secession or armed insurrection or subversive activities or incites feelings separatist activities or threatens the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits such an act, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine.’
Section 124A of the IPC currently reads: “Whoever by words, whether spoken or written, or signs, or visible representation or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection against the Government established by law in India shall punishable with imprisonment for life, to which a fine may be added, or to imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, to which a fine may be added, or to a fine.
But experts say that by making any act threatening the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India a criminal offence, Section 150 seeks to bring under its purview almost anything, including a speech, a book or article, a drama or an act – all that Section 124A IPC currently punishes as sedition.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra said “The government has now also included terrorist offences, organized crime and criminal activity. In a country like India where there is no sovereignty and where there is a democracy where the people are sovereign, the logic and rationale of retaining the sedition provision in any form is questionable”.
Another key change in proposed section 150 of the bill is the removal of the old provision that allowed a person convicted of sedition to get away with only a fine. Section 150 of the draft law stipulates as a penalty life imprisonment or with imprisonment, which can be up to seven years in addition to a fine.
The proposed amendment suggests that the government’s move is in line with the Law Commission of India’s recommendation in June that the alternative punishment for the offense be increased to seven years in prison under the IPC from the current three years. ; the 2023 bill also continues to impose life imprisonment as the maximum penalty.
