Situation from Kashmir to Kerala makes it must to retain sedition law: Law panel chief

STATE TIMES NEWS

New Delhi: Amid a clamour for the colonial-era sedition law to be repealed, Law Commission chairman Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said on Tuesday it is an important tool to safeguard the “safety and integrity of India” given the situation in many parts of the country, from Kashmir to Kerala and Punjab to the North-East.
Defending the panel’s recommendation to retain the law, which is at present under abeyance following directions of the Supreme Court issued in May last year, he said enough safeguards have been proposed to prevent its misuse.
In an exclusive interview, he told PTI that special laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the National Security Act operate in different fields and do not cover the offence of sedition and therefore, the specific law on sedition needed to be there too.
Justice Awasthi asserted that while considering the usage of the law on sedition the panel found that “the present situation right from Kashmir to Kerala and Punjab to the North-East is such that the law on sedition is necessary to safeguard the unity and integrity of India”.
He also said that the sedition law being a colonial legacy was not a valid ground for its repeal and several countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and Germany, have their own such laws.
In its report submitted to the government last month, the 22nd Law Commission headed by Justice Awasthi supported retaining section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with safeguards to prevent its misuse.
The recommendation triggered a political uproar with several opposition parties alleging that it was an attempt to stifle dissent and voices against the ruling party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
While the government said it will take an “informed and reasoned” decision on the Law Commission report after consulting all stakeholders and that the recommendations were “persuasive” but not binding, the Congress has alleged that the government wants to make the sedition law more “draconian”.
Referring to the “procedural safeguards” recommended by the commission, Awasthi told PTI that the preliminary inquiry will be held by a police officer of the rank of inspector or above.
The inquiry will be done within seven days from the occurrence of the incident and the preliminary inquiry report will be submitted to the competent government authority for permission for lodging of FIR in this regard, he added.
“On the basis of the preliminary report, if the competent government authority finds any cogent evidence with regard to commissioning of the offence of sedition, it may grant permission. It is only after the grant of permission that the FIR under Section 124 A of the IPC shall be lodged,” he said.
“We have also recommended that the central government may issue guidelines which are to be followed in case of commission of any such offence and the said guidelines may clarify as to under what circumstances the said offence was committed,” the former chief justice of the Karnataka High Court said.
He also said that the law panel has not made any recommendation for enhancement of punishment “as such”.