International Journal of Law

Authors
Sougata Talukdar, Rakesh Mondal

Abstract
Presently, the law relating to Sedition under Section 124A of Indian Penal Code, 1860 has created a new controversy in the Indian constitutional jurisprudence. As the law was inserted by the British Government to uphold the imperialism and to punish the freedom fighters, the utility of the Section 124A in independent India is in question. Since 1950 constitutional regime has been established in India and under Article 19 (1) (a) freedom of speech and Expression has been guaranteed as a fundamental right and it creates a new conflict with Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Now, the constitutionality of the sedition law has been challenged and various interesting judicial pronouncements have been delivered by the Indian judiciary. More interestingly several governments have moved for constitutional amendment to protect that obsolete colonial legacy. However, the paradigm has been shifted now; recently, the government has prescribed an amendment to curtail down the intensity of the sedition law. This paper deals with the historical background and the present status of the sedition in India and discusses its utility in twenty first century.