Sedition Charges

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

HK activist Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to sedition, collusion charges

Prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to three charges of sedition and collusion with foreign countries in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. Lai, a media tycoon who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, faces one count of conspiring to print seditious publications to incite hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, as well as two counts of collusion with foreign countries to call for sanctions and other hostile actions against China and Hong Kong. Flanked by three prison officers, Lai formally pleaded not guilty to the charges read to him, shortly after the court rejected a last-ditch attempt by his counsel to throw out a sedition charge against him. The court began hearing opening statements from the prosecution on Tuesday. Dressed in a navy blazer and a white shirt, Lai smiled and waved at his family members as he entered the courtroom ahead of the start of the court session. Lai, 76, was arrested during the .

Hong Kong court rejects Jimmy Lai's bid to throw out sedition charge

A Hong Kong court on Friday rejected a bid by prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai to throw out a sedition charge against him, delivering the ruling on the third day of his landmark national security trial. Lai, 76, was arrested during the city's crackdown on dissidents following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019. He faces possible life imprisonment if convicted under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. He is charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to publish seditious publications. Foreign governments, business professionals and legal scholars are closely watching the case, which is tied to the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily that Lai founded. Many view it as a trial of the city's freedoms and a test for judicial independence in the Asian financial hub. Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to China's rule in 1997 under a promise the city retain its Western-style civil .

Case on sedition charge registered against Raut for article against PM Modi

The Yavatmal police have registered an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on charge of sedition and other offences for writing an alleged objectionable article against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana', a senior official said on Tuesday. The case is based on a complaint filed by BJP's Yavatmal district coordinator Nitin Bhutada against Rajya Sabha member Raut, who is the executive editor of Saamana, the official said. In the complaint, Bhutada claimed Raut wrote an objectionable article against PM Modi on December 10. The case was registered on Monday at Umarkhed police station here against Raut under IPC sections 124 (A) (sedition), 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), the official said. "We have registered the case as per the complaint and will conduct a probe into it,"

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)

Delhi HC to hear Sharjeel Imam's plea for bail in sedition case on May 4

The Delhi High Court Monday said it will hear on May 4 a plea by JNU student Sharjeel Imam seeking bail in connection with a 2020 communal riots case involving allegations of sedition. The petition, which assails a January 24, 2022 order by the trial court dismissing his bail application, was listed for hearing before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Vikas Mahajan. The bench fixed the matter for hearing in May as the counsel for one of the parties was not available on Monday. On January 30, the court had sought to know the stand of the city police as to whether Imam's plea for bail could be remanded back to the trial court for adjudication as there was no ground mentioned in the lower court's order for rejecting the relief. The bench had said since section 124A (sedition) of the IPC has been kept in abeyance on the directions of the Supreme Court, it will have to examine the trial court's bail rejection order while keeping in mind the other penal sections applied against ..

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.

AAP demands sedition case against those involved in BJP's 'Operation Lotus'

The day-long national conclave of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday condemned the BJP's alleged "Operation Lotus" and passed a resolution, demanding that those involved in it be booked for sedition and handed down life imprisonment. The elected representatives of the AAP also took a pledge to make India the number one country in the world and take every possible effort to unite its 130 crore people for its success. Moving the resolution on "Operation Lotus", AAP MP Sanjay Singh dubbed it as the "biggest attack" ever on the sanctity of Independent India and said it poses a "greater threat" than any foreign invasion to the country. "Operation Lotus is placing illegal governments on the heads of the people by toppling elected governments in different parts of the country. It is the biggest scam in India," Singh read out the resolution. "Those responsible for the Operation Lotus are traitors. They should be charged with sedition and sentenced to life imprisonment," it demanded. In t

Police stand sought on Sharjeel Imam's interim bail plea in sedition case

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the city police on JNU student Sharjeel Imam's plea seeking interim bail in a 2020 riots case involving allegations of sedition

IPC Section 124A and the controversy around sedition law: Explained

Anti-CAA protest: Delhi court frames sedition charge against Sharjeel Imam

A Delhi court on Monday framed charges under sedition against JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a case related to alleged inflammatory speeches made by him during the CAA and NRC protests

Farmers block national highway; demand withdrawal of sedition charges

Farmers blocked a national highway at three different points to demand the release of five protesters who were arrested last week

'Journalists entitled to protection': Supreme Court quashes sedition case

Journalists are entitled to protection in sedition cases under a 1962 verdict so long as they do not incite violence against the government, the Supreme Court held on Thursday while quashing an FIR against Vinod Dua for his alleged comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his YouTube show last year. The veteran scribe had uploaded a video on March 30 last year on 'The Vinod Dua Show on YouTube' allegedly asserting that the Prime Minister used deaths and terror attacks at Pathankot and Pulwama to garner votes. The FIR lodged at Kumarsain in Shimla by a Himachal Pradesh-based BJP leader had also alleged that Dua had tried to spread false information such as the government did not have enough testing facilities for COVID-19. The verdict by a bench of justices Uday Umesh Lalit and Vineet Saran said: "We are...of the firm view that the prosecution of the petitioner for the offences punishable under Sections 124A and 505 (1) (b) of the IPC3 would be unjust. "Those offences, going

It's only words…

Sedition law needs to be observed in letter and spirit

Activist charged with sedition for post on meeting between Amit Shah, RS MP

The photo was clicked when Sanajaoba, a BJP leader, met Shah at his residence during a visit to Delhi

SC to hear today journalist Vinod Dua's plea for protection against arrest

Dua, through his petition, is seeking protection against arrest and no coercive action in connection with FIRs registered against him in many states pertaining to alleged incitement of communal hatred

Sedition charge slapped against woman in Karnataka for 'pro-Pak slogans'

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the woman had links with Naxals.

Sharjeel Imam sent to 6 days' judicial custody on sedition charges

Imam was produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amidst high security, said the lawyer, appearing for the JNU research scholar.