![]() “The anti-sedition law has its relevance,” said a senior NIA official. While the agency successfully proved the charges in some, it failed in many others. The NIA, set up in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has mixed experience in courts on sedition cases. Leaders of the proscribed organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and terror-accused in Kashmir to politicians and activists protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019 became the accused in these cases. In the last few years, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has slapped sedition charges in a series of cases. This meant that if the law was not read in the context of this interpretation, it threatened to engulf any expression of opposing opinion-written or spoken-qualifying it as incitement of hatred or disaffection towards the government. In the Kedar Nath Singh judgment, the Supreme Court narrowed down the scope of the anti-sedition law, saying that mere criticism of the government was not seditious unless it incited violence or disturbed public order. “It has to be used judiciously in the context of the Kedar Nath Singh judgment, where the constitutionality of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code was tested and upheld.” “Sedition cannot be invoked for small offences,” he said. Moreover, it is also a difficult offence to prove in court. Loknath Behera, a senior IPS officer involved in the investigation of the Purulia arms drop case, said the anti-sedition law should be used sparingly since it entails heavy punishment up to life imprisonment. The CBI issued a statement in 2011 dismissing claims that the operation had the nod of “political forces” at the Centre.Īn illegal act of this sort, that has the potential to incite an armed revolt against an elected government, can best be described as a seditious act and not just a terrorist plot. The sensational events captured the imagination of the public and the political circles: there were allegations that the arms drop was plotted to destabilise the Left Front government of Jyoti Basu in West Bengal. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |