The 21st Law Commission of India, headed by Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, has in a consultation paper on sedition law stated that “democracy is not another name of majoritarianism; on the contrary it is a system to include every voice, where thought of every person is counted.”
“If the country is not open to positive criticism, there lies little difference between the pre- and post-Independence eras. Right to Criticize one’s own history and the Right to Offend are rights protected under free speech,” reads the consultation paper.
On freedom of speech and expression, the Commission said, “Expressions used in such thoughts might be harsh and unpleasant to some, but that does not render the actions to be branded seditious. Section 124A should be invoked only in cases where the intention behind any act is to disrupt public order or to overthrow the Government with violence and illegal means.”
Throwing light upon the current state of affairs, the Commission said that merely expressing frustration over policies of the government, calling India not safe for women or speaking against the colour obsession Indians have cannot be termed as seditious. The panel added, “Berating the country, or a particular aspect of it, cannot and should not be treated as sedition.”
It went on to make a strong statement that “if the country is not open to positive criticism, there lies little difference between the pre- and post-independence eras.”
“Right to criticise one’s own history and the right to ‘offend’ are rights protected under free speech. While it is essential to protect the national integrity, it should not be misused as a tool to curb free speech,” said the panel. The Commission also laid out ten issues regarding the Sedition law.
The government had acknowledged that the definition of sedition law is “very wide” and said that it was to be reviewed by the Law Commission after members in Rajya Sabha demanded that it should be scrapped as it is a colonial legacy and a “relic”.
A total of 112 cases of sedition under Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code have been filed in the last 3 years, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs figure of 2017.
In October last year, Tamil Nadu government had slapped sedition charges against TTV Dinakaran who had been leading dissidence against the ruling AIADMK. The Karnataka government too in 2016 slapped a sedition case against Shashidhar Venugopal, the leader of the Akhila Karnataka Police Mahasangha for leading a protest that involved a state’s constabulary striking work. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was also recently charged for sedition.
In its 35 page report, the Law Commission has stated that although freedom of speech and expression in India is regulated by ‘reasonable restrictions’, such restrictions need to be justified in the name of “harm.”
