New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday April 30 decided to consider whether the sedition law is constitutional. This came soon after the court rejected a similar plea which was brought by three lawyers.
In a petition filed by two journalists, Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha of Manipur and Kanhaiya Lal Shukla of Chhattisgarh, challenging Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, a three-judge Bench of Justices UU Lalit, Indira Banerjee, and KM Joseph issued notice to the central government.
The petitioners claimed to say that they were charged with sedition for challenging the state and central government. They argued that the law violates Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression to its citizen.
“The law has been widely misused since its inception in 1962 and it is highly outdated on,” said the petitioners. Although “abuse of a law” does not in and of itself cast doubt on the law’s validity, they argue that it does highlight the provisions’ “vagueness and uncertainty.”
