New Delhi: A recently published study has unveiled the extent of abuse of the sedition law in the country. The report, published by a New Delhi based independent think tank, Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), stated that as per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states have dished out more sedition cases under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) since it started collecting data in 2014. It said that sedition charges have been rampantly invoked against opposition political leaders, journalists, activists, student leaders, celebrities, or even labourers who only exercised the right to freedom of speech and expression or advocated the right to assemble peacefully.
As per the NCRB, a total of 326 sedition cases were registered across the country from 2014 to 2019 and 559 persons were arrested. Among the States, the highest number of sedition cases (54) was registered in Assam, followed by Jharkhand (40), Haryana (35), Karnataka (30), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala (25 each), and Uttar Pradesh (17). Further, there has been 98% increase in sedition cases from 2014 (47 cases) to 2019 (98 cases).
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“The data collated by the NCRB does not appear to reflect the actual number of sedition cases filed in the country. For example, the NCRB data stated that only 19 sedition cases were filed in Jharkhand during 2017 (1 case) and 2018 (18 cases) while the Jharkhand Police had filed 30 FIRs/cases against about 200 named accused and more than 10,000 unnamed people involved in the Pathalgadi movement of 2017-18,” stated Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG.
The report, titled "Sedition: India’s Silencer Gun", further reveals that as per the NCRB, the rate of conviction for sedition offences from 2015 to 2019 was 8.92% i.e. in five out of 56 cases against the conviction rate for overall cognizable offences under IPC of 48.58% during the same period which, the report concludes, confirms that many of the sedition cases filed are frivolous but the accused had to undergo gruelling process of trial.
The report further states that the sedition law has jeopardised the people's right to freedom of expression due to vagueness of the terms like “hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government”, and the inability of the State to restrict its application only in cases which “incite people to violence against the Government established by law or create public disorder” as enunciated by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh judgment.
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“Complaints of sedition are mostly filed by private individuals who claim as nationalists or members or affiliates of mostly the ruling parties whether at the Centre or State level, against their real or perceived opponents, whether political or ideological and dissenters in a democracy. The most serious crime against a State i.e. to overthrow the government or threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity has been reduced to a matter of perception of a person’s own view on nationalism, a compliant police, and in some cases, a complicit judicial officer,” said Chakma.
