{"id":104488,"date":"2026-05-22T11:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=104488"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:03:21","slug":"sedition-law-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sedition-law-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Sedition Law &#8211; Supreme Court Allows Sedition Trials to Proceed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Sedition Law Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court has clarified that sedition trials and appeals under Section 124A IPC may proceed where the accused has no objection, partially relaxing its 2022 freeze on such proceedings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Sedition Law in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The colonial sedition law in India was contained in Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), introduced in 1890 by the British.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It made it an offence to bring or attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Punishment under Section 124A ranged from:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imprisonment for life (with or without fine), or<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imprisonment up to three years (with or without a fine), or<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fine alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The law was used against several freedom fighters, including <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mahatma-gandhi\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Mahatma Gandhi<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/bal-gangadhar-tilak\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Bal Gangadhar Tilak<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to suppress political dissent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Constitutional Position and Kedar Nath Singh Case<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After independence, sedition\u2019s validity was challenged as violating freedom of speech and expression under <\/span><b>Article 19(1)(a)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962), a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upheld Section 124A as constitutionally valid,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But narrowed its scope: sedition would apply only where speech or expression involves:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incitement to violence, or<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intention or tendency to create public disorder or disturb law and order.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mere criticism of the government, however strong or intemperate, was held not to be sedition unless it had a violent or disorderly tendency.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Criticism and Misuse<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, Section 124A came under intense criticism for:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being vague and overbroad,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being used against journalists, activists, students and ordinary citizens for:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media posts,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peaceful protests,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Political criticism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>2022 Supreme Court Interim Order<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On 11 May 2022, while the Union Government said it would re-examine and reconsider Section 124A, the Supreme Court passed an important interim order and put the operation of Section 124A on hold, pending the review.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court directed Union and State governments:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not to register new FIRs under Section 124A.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To keep all ongoing investigations, trials and proceedings in abeyance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also stated that those already in jail under sedition could seek bail.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This effectively froze the practical use of Section 124A, though it was not formally struck down.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Transition to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the replacement of the IPC by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a new provision, <\/span><b>Section 152 BNS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, criminalises acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Petitioners have argued that Section 152 is effectively a \u201crepackaged\u201d sedition law, and its validity is under challenge before the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court has also noted orally that the Executive\u2019s decision to \u201creview\u201d sedition under the old IPC does not prevent Parliament from enacting a similar provision in the new code, since the legislature functions independently.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>News Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Four years after its 2022 interim order effectively put sedition proceedings on hold, the <\/span><b>Supreme Court has now clarified that trials and appeals involving Section 124A IPC can proceed if the accused has no objection<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court issued this clarification while hearing a plea by a man who has been in jail for 17 years in a sedition case, with his criminal appeal pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bench recorded that the petitioner expressly wanted his appeal to be heard in full, including the charge under Section 124A. On that basis, the Court stated:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wherever the accused has no objection to the continuation of the trial, appeal, or any other proceeding in which he has been charged under Section 124A IPC, there shall be no impediment for the courts to decide such matters on merits and in accordance with law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to take up the petitioner\u2019s appeal forthwith, along with connected matters, and decide them on the merits.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Context: 2022 Stay on Sedition Proceedings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In its 11 May 2022 interim order, a Bench headed by then CJI N.V. Ramana had put all trials, investigations and proceedings under Section 124A in abeyance and \u201cHoped and expected\u201d that the Centre and States would:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not file new FIRs,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not continue investigations,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not to take coercive steps under Section 124A, while the Union re-examined the provision.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court had then emphasised the need to balance:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The security interests and integrity of the State, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The civil liberties of citizens.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The new clarification does not lift the 2022 protections generally; instead, it carves out a limited exception<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: where the accused themselves want their cases to proceed (for example, to secure an acquittal or an early final decision), courts are free to conduct trials or hear appeals and pronounce judgments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Link with Ongoing BNS Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2026, CJI Surya Kant had also observed orally that the Union\u2019s earlier decision to review sedition under the IPC cannot stop Parliament from introducing a similar offence in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This remark came while hearing PILs challenging various provisions of the BNS, including Section 152, which criminalises acts deemed to endanger India\u2019s sovereignty, unity and integrity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Petitioners argue that Section 152 BNS is essentially a \u201crebranded\u201d sedition clause, and the Court is currently examining whether it suffers from the same constitutional defects long alleged against Section 124A IPC.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Significance<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The clarification offers procedural flexibility: <\/span><b>accused persons who do not want their sedition cases to remain frozen for years can seek an early adjudication<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, the general freeze on sedition prosecutions remains in place for those who wish to rely on the 2022 interim protection.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The broader, substantive question of whether sedition-type offences (under either IPC 124A or BNS 152) are constitutional is still pending before the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/four-years-after-putting-on-hold-sedition-law-sc-says-trials-can-proceed-if-accused-has-no-objection\/article71006599.ece#:~:text=Four%20years%20after%20putting%20on,the%20accused%20had%20no%20objection.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livelaw.in\/amp\/top-stories\/supreme-court-sedition-section-124a-ipc-clarification-high-courts-can-hear-appeals-on-merits-where-accused-have-no-objection-535114\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Live Law<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sedition law trials under Section 124A IPC can continue if the accused explicitly agrees, the Supreme Court has clarified.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":104511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,7657,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-104488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-sedition-law","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104488"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104522,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104488\/revisions\/104522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}