By Dr. Gyan Pathak
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been playing cat and mouse for quite some time now. On June 28, 2023, while addressing party workers in poll bound Madhya Pradesh, he had categorically threatened the opposition calling them a bunch of corrupt leaders whom he vowed not to spare. The Prime Minister had offered a “Modi guarantee” to crack down on all “corrupt” opposition leaders.
One must take one’s prime minister seriously, not only because of his being head of the state but also in the backdrop in which many opposition politicians are seen to be hunted by Central agencies like CBI, ED, and Income Tax Department, apart from hundreds of them and other people including journalists and his critics who were framed under sedition law. The chief objective of the government under PM Modi was to intimidate all critics into submission. Many of the arrests were declared illegal by the Courts of the country, though the government claimed its actions under law of the land.
The law of sedition under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was one of them which was largely misused to silence the critics of the government. Even the Supreme Court of India had flagged the misuse of this law on May 11, 2022. The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by the then Chief Justice of India N V Ramana put the law at abeyance, but on assurance of the Union Government that they would re-examine and reconsider whether the sedition law needs to be retained, the bench deferred deciding on its constitutional validity.
If we look at the provisions of the recently introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill 2023 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the government assurance in the Supreme Court of India seems to be a trick played with the judiciary and the people of the country.
The announcement made by the Union Minister of Home Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha during the introduction of BNS Bill was even more glaring example of the trick, in which he said that there is the complete repeal of the offence of sedition from the Bill.
Union Minister of Home Amit Shah was technically and crudely right, since the sedition law under section 124 A of the IPC has not been retained as it is in the BNS Bill. The word sedition has been removed all together, but the offence of criticizing the government was retained under section 150 of the BNS Bill if the such an act was found to be “endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India.”
The explanation part of the section 150 of the BNS Bill says “Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures, or administrative or other action of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means without exciting or attempting to excite the activities referred to in this section.”
Since we have already seen misuse of the sedition law under IPC, there is even more scope of misuse of the section 150 of IPC. Whoever, “indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine,” says this new section, without naming the word ‘sedition’.
The trick would be more obvious if we compare the languages of the section 124 A of the IPC and the section 150 of the BNS Bill.
Under section 124 A we have “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, a shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”
Under section 150 of BNS Bill we have, “Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India … .”
The punishment for such offence is not defined as ‘sedition’ which does not mean that the government has done away with the possible misuse of this law against its critics. Rather it has increase punishment of 3 years to 7 years.
The entire period between the Union Government’s assurance in the Supreme Court of India in May 2022 to introduction of BNS Bill in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2023, there is a tale of the trick.
The 22nd Law Commission Report titled “Usage of the Law of Sedition” has also not only recommended retention of the sedition law but also enhancing the penal provision upto 3 years of imprisonment to 7 years, while retaining the other provision of imprisonment for life. The present BNS Bill does exactly this but without naming the word ‘sedition’, perhaps because the government’s assurance that they have been reconsidering the law of sedition under IPC.
The assurance was given because the Supreme Court had found the law of sedition was being misused to stifle the opposing voices despite the fact the India is a democratic country and citizens have right to criticize the government to their own peril of being framed up on sedition charge.
Bitter criticism has been inevitable to erupt under an authoritarian leadership of PM Narendra Modi, against whom there are evidences of being part of crony-capitalism, and it is likely to increase before the Lok Sabha election 2024, which puts the government in urgent need to have such laws to stifle the opposing voices.
Perhaps for this reason the Centre tried to buy time in Supreme Court in May 2022. However, on October 31, 2022, the Centre has sought more time as “something may happen in the Winter Session of the Parliament”. On this assurance Supreme Court deferred the cast to January 2023. The case again came before the bench led by Chief Justice of India on May 2, 2023, where the Union government had submitted that consultations for “reexamining” sedition law are at a “substantially advanced stage” after which the case was posted for hearing in the second week of August 2023.
Now the Centre has come with new BNS Bill which has not used the word ‘sedition’ but retained the offence and increased the sentence, without calling it ‘sedition’. It is surely a trick played on the people and judiciary, and similar to playing cat and mouse with the opposition leaders and critics. Sedition cases have been on the rise under PM Modi since 2014, and now if new BNS Bill is passed in the parliament, the government will have even more power to intimidate its critics into submission to the authorities. (IPA Service)
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