Sedition

Police conduct raids in Srinagar against suspects spreading propaganda

Police on Saturday said it conducted raids at multiple locations in the city as part of investigations against suspects allegedly involved in spreading malicious and seditious propaganda aimed at provoking people into unlawful and violent activities. A spokesperson said the searches were carried out in the Batamaloo and HMT areas of Srinagar city in a case under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act registered at the Shergari police station. The investigation is underway against some individuals, who at the behest of adversaries and in criminal conspiracy with others, were found prima facia involved in "orchestrating a campaign of manufacturing fabricated and malicious narrative by way of disseminating twisted and false information to provoke people for unlawful and violent activities", the official said. He said that the Srinagar district police, after obtaining search warrants from an NIA court, conducted the searches in the houses of Obais Riyaz Dar of Bonpora, .

Ex-Malaysian leader Muhyiddin charged with sedition for mocking former king

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged Tuesday with sedition over a speech he made that allegedly questioned the integrity of the country's previous king. Muhyiddin, who led Malaysia from March 2020 until August 2021, pleaded not guilty in a court in northeast Kelantan state. According to the charge sheet, Muhyiddin made the seditious remarks last month during a by-election campaign in Kelantan. Nine ethnic Malay state rulers take turns as Malaysia's king for five-year terms under the country's rotating monarchy, which began when Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The monarchy plays a largely ceremonial role, but are revered by the nation's majority Muslims. In his speech on Aug. 14, Muhyiddin had questioned why then-King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah didn't invite him to be prime minister following a hung Parliament in November 2022. Muhyiddin had claimed he had the backing of majority lawmakers. Sultan Abdullah appointed then-opposition .

Pak Army sentences former officer to 14 yrs imprisonment in sedition case

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday announced that it sentenced a former officer to 14 years of imprisonment on the charges of sedition. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Akbar Hussain was convicted and sentenced through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act 1952 on charges of inciting sedition among army personnel from discharge of duties, according to a statement by the army. The court of competent jurisdiction adjudged him guilty' of the offence charged, through due judicial process and awarded the punishment of 14 years rigorous imprisonment on May 10, it stated. According to the sentence, the Rank of the officer was forfeited on July 26, it further said.

Arundhati Roy faces anti-terror charges; activists, politicians speak out

Explained: Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena sanctioned author Arundhati Roy and former professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain's persecution under the UAPA for a complaint dating back 14 years

HC grants student activist Sharjeel Imam bail in Delhi communal riots case

More than four years after he was arrested, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam in connection with a 2020 communal riots case involving allegations of sedition and unlawful activities. Imam had assailed a trial court order refusing to release him even though he had undergone more than half of the maximum sentence that could be awarded to him, if convicted. He claimed he was entitled to bail under the criminal statute. "Appeal is allowed," a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain said after hearing the counsel for Imam and the Delhi Police. He will, however, stay behind bars as he has not been granted relief in the case involving alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 North East Delhi riots which left more than 50 people dead and hundreds of others injured. According to the prosecution, Imam made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019 and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019 where he threaten

Delhi Court reserves verdict on Sharjeel Imam's bail plea in sedition case

According to his grounds, he has been in custody since the last four years and it is more than half of the maximum sentence

701 sedition, 5,023 UAPA cases registered in 2018-22: Govt to Lok Sabha

As many as 701 cases of sedition and offences against the State were registered from 2018 to 2022 and 5,023 cases were lodged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Rai, however, said the number of cases registered under the sedition and offences against the State came down from 149 in 2021 to 68 in 2022. Similarly, in cases registered under the UAPA, the number has gone up from 814 in 2021 to 1005 in 2022, he said in a written reply to a question. The minister said during this period, 788 people were arrested and charge sheet was filed against 500 in sedition and offences against state cases. A total of 131 people were acquitted too. He said under the UAPA, 8,947 people were arrested and 6,503 people named in charge sheets. A total of 550 people were acquitted too.

Didn't run Chinese propaganda, govt treats criticism as sedition: NewsClick

All funding received by NewsClick has been through appropriate banking channels, said the online website in a statement on Wednesday

SC to hear on pleas challenging validity of sedition law on Sept 12

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on September 12 a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of colonial-era provision of sedition under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These pleas had come up on May 1 before the apex court which had deferred the hearing after the Centre said it was at an advanced stage of consultation on re-examining the penal provision. On August 11, in a landmark move to overhaul colonial-era criminal laws, the Centre had introduced in the Lok Sabha three bills to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act, proposing among other things the repeal of sedition law and introducing a new provision with a wider definition of the offence. As per the cause list of September 12 uploaded on the apex court website, the pleas challenging the validity of section 124A (sedition) of the IPC would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. While hearing these petitions on May 1, the

Court issues notice to Delhi police on plea of Sharjeel Imam seeking bail

The matter has been listed on September 11. The main matter is also listed on the next date of hearing

Dissent vs Sedition: Courts have laid down the law, put up guard rails

When an amendment to Section 124A made its way to the IPC in 1898, it stood to define sedition as an offence that incites or seeks to incite emotions of dissatisfaction with the government

Doubling down on sedition

Law body's proposals contradict spirit of democracy

Govt wants to make sedition law 'draconian', will use it against Oppn: Cong

With the law commission backing the sedition law, the Congress on Friday accused the BJP government of planning to make it more "draconian" and giving a message ahead of the general elections that it will be used against opposition leaders. Alleging that the BJP uses the sedition law as a tool of "subversing, subjugating, and silencing dissent", the opposition party also asked why the government has not yet had the courage to do away with the law despite the apex court rendering it inoperative and making strong observations in that regard. Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, "A message of colonial mindset has been given that there will be a distance between the ruler and the ruled and through this law, the foundations of the republic will be uprooted. A message has been given ahead of the general election that we will use this in a one-sided manner particularly against opposition leaders." The Congress' attack com

Increase jail term in sedition cases to 7 years, recommends Law commission

The Law Commission of India has recommended enhancing the jail term in sedition cases from a minimum of three years to seven years, contending that it would allow courts greater room to award punishment in accordance with the scale and gravity of the act committed. In a report on the 'Usage of the Law of Sedition', the Commission said its earlier report had termed the punishment for Section 124A (law of sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) "very odd" as it has provisions for either life imprisonment or a three-year jail term, but nothing in between. The minimum punishment under the sedition law is paying fine. "A comparison of the sentences as provided for offences in Chapter VI of the IPC suggests that there is a glaring disparity in the punishment prescribed for Section 124A," the Commission said. Chapter VI of the IPC deals with offences against the state. "It is, therefore, suggested that the provision be revised to bring it in consonance with the scheme of punishment prov

HC seeks police stand on Sharjeel Imam's plea against sedition case

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the city police on a petition by student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking quashing of a supplementary charge sheet introducing the offence of sedition and hate speech in a criminal case concerning his alleged objectionable speech delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019. Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notice on the petition and granted time to the prosecution to file a status report. First supplementary charge sheet was filed in the case on April 16, 2020. Counsel for the petitioner said the challenge to the supplementary charge sheet was to extent of addition of the offences of sedition, whose operation has been stayed by the Supreme Court, and hate speech. The lawyer said a separate FIR for same offences has already been registered by the Delhi Police in relation to two of his speeches during the anti-CAA protests including the speech in question here. The petition has also payed for a direction to the trial court to .

The word sedition gives the impression we live in a monarchy: G S Bajpai

Nearly 13,000 individuals have been charged under Section 124A since 2010. The law essentially functions as a measure to prevent and regulate certain activities

Free (the) speech: 475 sedition cases registered between 2014 and 2021

The most number of such cases were reported from Haryana (42 cases), followed by Jharkhand (40), Karnataka (38), Andhra Pradesh (32), and Jammu & Kashmir (29)

SC to hear pleas challenging validity of penal law on sedition on Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a batch of pleas, including one filed by the Editors Guild, challenging the validity of the colonial era sedition law. The Centre is expected to apprise the court of the steps taken so far with regard to reviewing the contentious penal provision. On October 31 last year, the top court had extended its May 11 direction putting on hold the sedition law and the consequential registration of FIRs while granting additional time to the government to take "appropriate steps" for reviewing of the provision. According to the apex court's website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala has listed as many as 16 petitions challenging the validity of the law for hearing. The central government, which has to review the provision, on October 31 last year, had told the bench that it be granted some more time as "something may happen in the winter session of Parliament". Attorney General R Venkataramani had said t

Hong Kongers who clapped, criticised judge in court guilty of sedition

Two Hong Kongers were found guilty on a sedition charge on Thursday after they clapped and criticised the judge during a previous trial over a banned Tiananmen Square vigil in the city. Garry Pang Moon-yuen, a pastor, and Chiu Mei-ying, a housewife, were arrested in April for disturbances they made in a court hearing in January when a leader of the group that organised the Hong Kong vigil was sentenced for inciting others to join the prohibited event last year. Hong Kong is undergoing a political crackdown following widespread protests in 2019 and the imposition of a sweeping national security law in 2020, with many prominent activists in the pro-democracy camp having been arrested or jailed. Besides the national security law, a growing number of dissidents have also been charged for colonial-era sedition offenses. Pang and Chiu, instead of being charged with contempt of court, were charged with uttering seditious words. Pang reportedly told the judge you have lost your conscience

Delhi Court grants bail to JNU student Sharjeel Imam in 2019 sedition case

A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to former JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a sedition case in which he was accused of instigating the Jamia riots here in 2019. Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal granted him relief in the matter. A detailed order from the court is awaited. In the New Friends Colony case, Imam was arrested for instigating and abetting the Jamia riots, due to his seditious speech delivered on December 13, 2019. During the investigation, police invoked sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A IPC (promoting enmity between classes) against him. However, Imam, who is in judicial custody since January 2020, will continue to remain in jail as he is yet to secure bail in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.