‘Sedition For Breaking Windshield’: Yogendra Yadav On Court Observation

New Delhi:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and leaders of different opposition events have counseled the Supreme Court docket terming India’s sedition legislation as “colonial”. A Supreme Court docket bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, whereas agreeing to look into petitions by the Editors Guild of India and a Main Basic (retired) difficult the constitutionality of the part on sedition within the Indian Penal Code (IPC), raised concern over “misuse of legislation” and issued discover to the centre.

“…We wish to ask some questions. This can be a colonial period legislation and the identical legislation was utilized by the British to suppress the liberty motion. It was utilized by the British to silence Mahatma Gandhi, Gokhale and others. Is it nonetheless essential to maintain this in statute even after 75 years of independence?” stated the Supreme Court docket bench that additionally comprised Justices AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy.

Hours after the Supreme Court docket’s remark, Mr Gandhi tweeted, “We welcome this remark by the Supreme Court docket.”

We welcome this remark by the Supreme Court docket.

उच्चतम न्यायालय की इस टिप्पणी का हम स्वागत करते हैं। pic.twitter.com/U5ctaOiW0K

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 15, 2021

Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav additionally tweeted the sedition legislation is being misused. “Sure, that is the query. Living proof: Yesterday, sedition case was registered towards farmers in Sirsa for breaking the windshield of a minister’s car! That is what this legislation is getting used for,” Mr Yadav stated, referring to the Haryana Police charging over 100 farmers with sedition after they allegedly attacked and broken the car of Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa.

Former Union Minister Arun Shourie has additionally filed a petition within the Supreme Court docket difficult the constitutional validity of Part 124A (Sedition) of the IPC.

In as we speak’s listening to, the Supreme Court docket whereas observing that the availability on sedition has been put to “huge misuse”, additionally referred to the “alarming misuse” of Part 66A of the Info Know-how Act even after the Supreme Court docket had set it apart way back. “It may be in comparison with a carpenter, requested to chop a wooden, minimize your complete forest,” the Supreme Court docket stated.

“A factionist can invoke all these (penal) provisions to implicate the opposite group of individuals,” the Chief Justice of India stated, including that if a selected occasion or folks don’t wish to hear a voice, they are going to use this legislation to implicate others.

In his petition, Main Basic SG Vombatkere (retired) stated the sedition legislation has a “chilling impact” on speech and is an unreasonable restriction on free expression, a elementary proper.