From Sec 124A IPC to Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: Has India Truly Decriminalised Sedition
Keywords:
Sedition, Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, freedom of speech, criminal law reform, constitutional lawAbstract
The paper discusses the legal and constitutional aspects of repeal of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and its amendment in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 with specific attention to whether the reform amounts to decriminalising of sedition in India or not. The paper will consider the consistency and the break with the times in colonial law on sedition and modern law based on sovereignty and national integrity by studying the continuity and discontinuity of these offences using doctrinal analysis of the statutory provisions, judicial precedents and literature on the subject published in the past and since 2015. Secondary empirical data regarding case registration and conviction trend is also evaluated in order to evaluate the pattern of enforcement and discretionary practices. The conclusions indicate that as much as the repealing of sedition has a symbolic meaning, there are still substantive issues which revolve around the possibility of criminalising the political dissent through the re-branding of legal statutes. The article serves to inform current discussions regarding criminal law reform, freedom of speech and democracy and accountability in the developing Indian constitution.
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