Pakistani court strikes down colonial-era sedition law must inspire India’s free speech ‘advocates’
Post Date – 12:15 AM, Wednesday – 4/5/23
Pakistani court strikes down colonial-era sedition law must inspire India’s free speech ‘advocates’
Hyderabad: Amid the sweeping gloom marked by economic crisis, political instability and a surge in terrorist attacks, a court in Pakistan has struck down a colonial-era sedition law, offering a glimmer of hope to the besieged nation in a move that must galvanize freedom of expression in India. Advocate. The specter of colonial history still haunts the subcontinent, and the sedition rule is a brutal reminder of oppression. Both countries have inherited 153 years of draconian laws that have no place in modern democracies. The Lahore High Court has struck down the law, saying it was unconstitutional. It is a landmark development for a country that has seen successive governments use sedition laws as a tool to curb the right to free speech and expression. The case of India is no exception. The NDA administration’s approach to sedition laws has been tentative and ambiguous, failing to inspire any confidence. Its submission to the Supreme Court that it was considering “some changes” to colonial-era laws fell short of public expectations. There have been several instances of arbitrary and unreasonable use of harsh regulations against ordinary citizens. Originally, the section was inserted in 1870, nearly a decade after the Indian Penal Code was enacted, to silence opposition to the British rulers. Several pre-independence cases involving Section 124A of the IPC were used against prominent freedom fighters including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Maulana Azad and Mahatma Gandhi.
The Sedition Act, worded in the same way in India and Pakistan, deals with “by words, signs or manifest manifestations, spoken or written” or “bringing or attempting to generate hatred or contempt for federal or provincial governments established by law, or to incite or attempt to incite discontent “. Back in 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that sedition charges could not be brought against citizens critical of government actions because it was consistent with freedom of speech and expression. However, successive administrations have conveniently ignored these additional provisions and have begun using it as a tool to suppress speech. It would be incongruous for a free and liberal democracy to enact a sedition law against its own citizens. In fact, criticizing today’s government is the very essence of democracy and should not be considered an anti-state activity. Now is the time to build a national consensus in favor of repealing the sedition laws. According to the National Criminal Records Bureau, between 2016 and 2019, sedition charges rose 160 per cent, while the conviction rate was just 3.3 per cent, while only two of the 93 people charged in 2019 could be convicted. is convicted.
