Retain sedition law with key amendments, recommends Law Commission

The Commission is currently headed by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi. The report stated that the home ministry referred the issue to the Commission in 2016.

The qualifying words “tendency to incite violence”, the Commission said, would mean “mere inclination to incite violence or cause public disorder rather than proof of actual violence or imminent threat to violence”.

Currently, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with sedition, has a punishment of a life sentence along with a fine or imprisonment which may extend up to three years along with a fine. The criticism against the provision is that it gives wide and arbitrary discretion to courts on punishment.

In July last year, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the law on sedition after the government said that it will take a relook at the colonial provision. Former Chief Justice of India N V Ramana expressed concerns about the misuse of the law. In 1962, in the Kedarnath Singh ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the provision, restricting the application of the law to those who incite violence.

“The Law Commission is of the considered view that Section l24A needs to be retained in the Indian Penal Code, though certain amendments, as suggested, may be introduced in it by incorporating the rotio decidendi of Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar [AIR 1962 SC 9551] so as to bring about greater clarity regarding the usage of the provision. We further recommend that the scheme of punishment provided under the said section be amended to ensure that it is brought in parity with the other offences under Chapter VI of IPC,” the Commission said.

“Moreover, cognizant of the views regarding the misuse of Section 124A, the Commission recommends that model guidelines curbing the same be issued by the Central Government. In this context, it is also alternatively 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 filing of a FIR with respect to an offence under Section l24A of IPC,” the Commission said.