Latest news with #Section124A
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SC to examine validity of BNS 'sedition' provision
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the 'sedition' provision in Section 152 of BNS and tagged the petition on this issue to pending petitions that challenged the validity of Section 124A of IPC. A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria issued notice to the Centre on the petition filed by retired Maj Gen S G Vombatkere, who alleged that BNS Section 152 was merely a rewording of the sedition provision defined in IPC Section 124A, which had the maximum penalty of life sentence. In a PIL filed through advocate Prasanna S, he said, "Section 152 of BNS reintroduces the colonial sedition law, Section 124A of IPC. Though the language is altered, its substantive content - criminalising vague and broad categories of speech and expression such as 'subversive activity', 'encouragement of separatist feelings', and acts 'endangering unity or integrity of India' - remains the same or is even more expansive. " He was among petitioners who challenged the validity of the IPC section earlier. On April 23, 2023, a bench led by then CJI D Y Chandrachud had referred to a five-judge bench to decide the validity of the sedition provision under IPC Section 124A after rejecting govt's plea to pause judicial scrutiny and await Parliament's view on the proposed new penal code in BNS. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo On May 11,2022, a bench headed by then CJI N V Ramana had suspended operation of the sedition provision to stop police from invoking it against anyone and also stayed both probe and trial in existing sedition cases to allow the Centre to examine pruning the rigour of Section 124A. "We expect that, till the re-examination of the provision is complete, it will be appropriate not to continue the usage of the aforesaid provision of law (Section 124A) by govts," the CJI Ramana-led bench had said. In the Kedarnath Singh case in 1962, SC had read down the provisions of Section 124A . "It is only when the words, written or spoken, etc. which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder or disturbance of law and order that the law steps in to prevent such activities in the interest of public order. So construed, the section, in our opinion, strikes the correct balance between individual fundamental rights and the interest of public order," it had ruled.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SC seeks centre's response on plea alleging sec 152 is unconstitutional
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) by alleging that it replaces the old sedition law under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A three-member bench headed by CJI BR Gavai asked the Centre to respond to the plea filed by SG Vombatkere, a retired Indian Army officer, who had earlier challenged the offence of sedition under Section 124A of IPC. The petition alleged Section 152 is a "repackaged sedition law". It further said though the language of the new provision is altered, its substantive content now criminalises more vague and broad categories of speech and expressions. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program "Section 152 criminalises a wide spectrum of expressive conduct, including those who 'purposely or knowingly' use words - spoken, written, electronic, symbolic, or financial - to 'excite or attempt to excite' secession, rebellion, or subversive activities," the plea argued.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Plea in SC says BNS has ‘repackaged' colonial sedition law; Bench seeks Centre's reply
The Supreme Court on Friday (August 8, 2025) sought the Centre's response to a petition claiming that Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 is 'repackaged' the colonial sedition law. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai issued notice to the Union government on a petition filed by S.G. Vombatkere, represented by advocate Prasanna S. The petition said the apex court had ordered court proceedings and criminal prosecutions for sedition under Section 124A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) to be kept in abeyance in an order in May 2022. However, when BNS replaced the British-era IPC in July 2024, Section 124A was slipped in again into the statute book in the guise of Section 152, the petition submitted. 'The provision, in effect, reintroduces the colonial sedition law previously codified as Section 124A of the IPC, 1860, under a new nomenclature. Though the language is altered, its substantive content—criminalising vague and broad categories of speech and expression such as 'subversive activity', 'encouragement of separatist feelings', and acts 'endangering unity or integrity of India' — remains the same or is even more expansive,' the petition said. It said Section 152 was violative of fundamental rights under Articles 14 (equality), 19(1)(a) (free speech), and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution. Section 152 criminalised a wide spectrum of expressive conduct, including those who 'purposely or knowingly' use words — spoken, written, electronic, symbolic, or financial — to 'excite or attempt to excite' secession, rebellion, or subversive activities. 'Its sweeping language, including phrases like 'encouraging feelings of separatist activities', fails the test of constitutional validity due to vagueness, overbreadth, chilling effect, disproportionate punishment, and absence of proximate nexus to public disorder,' the petitioner argued. The Bench tagged the petition with the pending case against the law of sedition. The 2022 abeyance order of the top court had acted as a powerful message against the rampant misuse of the sedition law by governments to silence dissent and violate personal liberty. Undertrials booked under Section 124A were at the time free to use the order to seek bail. The Centre too had acknowledged at the time that Section 124A was not in tune with the current times.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bombay HC dismisses plea challenging constitutional validity of UAPA
The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act ( UAPA ). A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale said the Act in its present form was "constitutionally valid" and, hence, challenge to its vires fails. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category MBA healthcare Data Analytics Public Policy Technology Operations Management CXO others MCA Finance Cybersecurity Artificial Intelligence Digital Marketing Design Thinking Management Others Data Science Product Management Project Management Degree Healthcare Leadership PGDM Data Science Skills you'll gain: Financial Management Team Leadership & Collaboration Financial Reporting & Analysis Advocacy Strategies for Leadership Duration: 18 Months UMass Global Master of Business Administration (MBA) Starts on May 13, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Analytical Skills Financial Literacy Leadership and Management Skills Strategic Thinking Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Online MBA Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details The court dismissed a 2021 petition filed by one Anil Baburao Baile, who was issued notice in 2020 in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case by the National Investigation Agency. Baile sought a declaration that the UAPA and also the now suspended Section 124A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to sedition be declared as ultra vires and unconstitutional. In his plea, Baile also sought the setting aside of the July 10, 2020 notice issued to him. Live Events As per the petition, the provisions of UAPA granted "unbridled power' to the executive to declare an organisation or an individual and their activity unlawful without defining the same in the law. The amendment made in the UAPA to adopt the United Nations Security Council's 2001 resolution, which was for criminalising any person supporting international terrorism, made it possible for the government to declare an Indian citizen or an organisation as a terrorist, the plea added. "Nowhere does the Constitution authorise a blanket power to the executive in deciding and Parliament cannot be granted blanket power to declare an organisation as unlawful," Baile's plea claimed.
