Law Commission backs Sedition Law; proposes amendments for better clarity | Read here

The Law Commission of India has said it is of the considered view that Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with sedition law needs to be retained. In its report, the Commission, however, believes that certain amendments could be introduced to provide better clarity on the application of this provision. While acknowledging that sedition is a "colonial legacy," the commission strongly stated that this alone is not a sufficient reason to repeal it. The panel will hand over the report to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. Here are the recommendations made by the Law Commission:

1. Incorporation of Ratio of Kedar Nath Judgement

In its 'Usage of the Law of Sedition', the 22nd Law Commission of India led by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, stated that the test laid down by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh's judgement is a settled proposition of law. It recommended that the ratio of Kedar Nath Singh may be incorporated in the phraseology of Section 124A, so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision. 

Notably, in the Kedar Nath Singh case (1962), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Section 124A while also laying down certain guidelines and restrictions to prevent misuse and ensure that the provision aligns with the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

2. Procedural guidelines for preventing alleged misuse of 124A of IPC

On the misuse of Section 124A, the panel recommended that model guidelines curbing them be issued by the Central government. It is suggested that a provision analogous to Section 196(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) may be incorporated as a proviso to Section 154 of CrPC, which would provide the requisite procedural safeguard before the filing of an FIR with respect to an offence under Section 124A of IPC.

Alternatively, an amendment may be introduced in Section 154 of CrPC by incorporating a proviso in the following manner: Provided further that no First Information Report for an offence under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 shall be registered unless a police officer, not below the rank of Inspector, conducts a preliminary inquiry and on the basis of the report made by the said police officer the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, grants permission for registering an FIR, the report said.

The said police officer, not below the rank of Inspector, shall conduct a preliminary inquiry within seven days to ascertain whether a prima facia case is made out and whether some cogent evidence exists. The said police officer shall record the reasons for the same in writing and only thereafter, permission shall be granted under the aforesaid proposed proviso.

3.  Removal of the Oddity in Punishment 

Terming the punishment for Section 124A to be very 'odd', the Commission suggested that the provision be revised to bring it in consonance with the scheme of punishment provided for other offences under Chapter VI of the IPC. "This would allow the Courts greater room to award punishment for a case of sedition in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act committed," the report said.

 4. Proposal for Amendment

In its report, the Commission has proposed the amendment in Section 124A of the IPC. It proposes to add "with a tendency to incite violence or cause public disorder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, to which fine may be added, or with fine", to the definition of the section concerned.

The expression "tendency" means the mere inclination to incite violence or cause public disorder rather than proof of actual violence or imminent threat to violence, the report said.