The Supreme Court will on Wednesday take up a clutch of petitions that have demanded the scrapping of the penal provision of sedition in India, which is punishable with a jail term ranging between three years to life. A special bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, will consider the batch of four petitions pending since 2021. The other members of the special bench are justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.
The last hearing in the matter was conducted on July 15, 2021 when the top court rued the “enormous power of misuse” of the sedition law in India, and asked the Union government why it should not scrap a colonial law that was once used by the British government to oppress the freedom movements and leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Union government on that day, sought time to place the formal response on record, saying that the work of the court may get reduced once the Centre has submitted its affidavit in the matter. However, according to people aware of the matter, no affidavit has been filed by the Centre till date. The top court also noted in its order that senior advocate Kapil Sibal will lead the arguments from the petitioner’s side in the matter.
The judges asked the government to refrain from registering any new cases which invoke sedition until it finishes hearing petitions challenging it.The court also asked the authorities to pause all existing sedition tria
Hon’ble Mr. Justice N.V. Ramana
Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant
Judge Supreme Court of India
Hon’ble Ms. Justice Hima Kohli
Judge Supreme Court of India
