Tag: Sedition

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 ("BNS"), the legislation that replaced the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC") was brought into effect on July 1, 2024. BNS while introducing various new offences also reformulates certain older provisions and introduces new nomenclature for some offences. . . . ...

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 ("New IPC Bill"), the proposed successor to the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC") was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2023. The Bill was tabled along with two other bills: (1) Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023; and (2) Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 intended to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively. ......

The law should not be used in a manner that has chilling effects on the ‘freedom of speech and expression’, observed the Supreme Court of India in S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal . Based on the same rationale, a petition has been filed by journalists Kishorechandra Wangkemcha and Kanhaiya Lal Shukla (“Petitioners”), for challenging Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“IPC”) which penalises the crime of ‘sedition’ (“Petition”). ......

On July 03, 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs through a written statement informed the Rajya Sabha that the present Government has no plans on amending the laws on sedition in the country so as to ensure that the Government has effective means to combat anti-national, secessionist and terrorist elements. In an election, where national security was a huge factor for the political parties, a stance that was taken by certain political parties was that they would like to amend the present sedition laws in our country^[1], whereas, the ruling party’s stand was that they would like to toughen the existing sedition laws.^[2]...