Supreme Court puts sedition law on hold, no new FIRs to be lodged till review is complete

The Supreme Court has urged the Centre and state governments to refrain from registering any FIRs invoking sedition provision Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code till review of the law by the Centre is completeA bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said till the review of the sedition provision by the Centre is complete the governments should not use the sedition provisionIn an interim order the bench said no new FIRs should be lodged under the sedition provision and those already in jail can approach courts for reliefThe Centre proposed issuing an advisory to the state governments that only a police officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police SP who may record in writing the reasons for a case involving sedition provision Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code as it cannot prevent police from registering a cognizable offence under sedition provisionSolicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre submitted that the government proposes that a police officer of the level of SP or above should decide for now on whether a sedition charge should be filed in future FIRs He added that as the government reviews the sedition law pending sedition cases can be reviewed and the courts can decide on the bail application of those under Section 124A IPC expeditiouslySenior advocate Kapil Sibal representing one of the petitioners contended that Section 124A has become prima facie unconstitutional and the apex court must stay application of the sedition provision till the Centre reviews the provisionMehta submitted that as far as pending cases are concerned gravity of each case is not known maybe there is a terror angle and also the pending cases are before judicial forum We need to trust the courts he addedJustice Kant told Sibal What is this argumentCan it be struck down today The bench added that it is looking for an answer who can be an impartial authority in the view of Centres proposal and asked Sibal what an arrangement in the interregnum can be doneOn Tuesday the top court had sought the Centres response on pending and future cases registered under the sedition lawThe Ministry of Home Affairs in its affidavit said the Prime Minister of India has been cognizant of various views expressed on the subject and has also periodically in various forums expressed his clear and unequivocal views in favour of protection of civil liberties respect for human rights and giving to the constitutionally cherished freedoms to the people of the countryThe home ministry added that the Prime Minister has repeatedly said that one of Indias strengths is the diverse thought streams that beautifully flourish in the country The ministry said the Prime Minister believes that at a time when the nation is marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav 75 years of Independence as a nation it is essential to work harder to shed colonial baggage that passed its utility which includes outdated colonial laws and practicesThe Government of India being fully cognizant of various views being expressed on the subject of sedition and also having considered the concerns of civil liberties and human rights while committed to maintain and protect the sovereignty and integrity of this nation has decided to reexamine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which can only be done before the competent forum said the affidavitThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever