Abuse of law
Celebrating a sports victory ¬ even that of a Pakistani team ¬ is a far cry from sedition. Providing more evidence that the sedition law ¬ Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code ¬ is prone to serious misuse, several people across the country have been booked under its tough provisions when all they were doing was celebrating the Pakistani cricket team's victory over India in the recently concluded Champions Trophy final. Reportedly , five people were slapped with sedition charges in Rajasthan, 15 in Madhya Pradesh and another two in Karnataka. It's welcome that the sedition charges in MP have now been dropped, but using such a draconian legal provision in the first place for something as frivolous as a sports celebration is both absurd and unjust. The sedition law is a relic of the colonial era that's seriously out of place in our modern democracy. Yet it has been repeatedly used against activists, protesting students and political opponents who criticise government policies or voice opinions that are contrary to those of the ruling dispensation. Sedition charges being slapped against protesting students in JNU or those protesting against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu prove the illiberal law is used all too liberally, despite the Supreme Court ring-fencing the definition of sedition. In Kedar Nath Singh vs the State of Bihar a Constitution Bench had stated that the charge of sedition must demonstrate an intention or tendency to subvert the government by violent means. It follows that mere criticism of government and voicing controversial opinions do not fall under the purview of sedition. And celebrating a rival team's cricket victory ¬ even if that team is Pakistan ¬ is certainly a far cry from sedition. In the interest of democracy and justice it would make sense to scrap the sedition law altogether.
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