Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 9: The central government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it had decided to reconsider and re-examine the Indian Penal Code’s sedition statute, Section 124A. (IPC).
In its affidavit, the Centre asked the Supreme Court to postpone hearing the petitions till the government’s process was completed. It stated that the matter would be investigated by a competent forum.
According to reports, the Centre said in its affidavit that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed clear and unequivocal views in favour of civil liberties protection and respect for human rights, and that outdated colonial laws have no place in India, which is celebrating its 75th year of independence.
Earlier, the Centre defended the British-era penal law on sedition and the 1962 verdict of a constitution bench upholding its validity in the Supreme Court last week, claiming that they had stood ‘the test of time’ for nearly six decades and that instances of its abuse would never be a justification for reconsideration.
Notably in 1962, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the sedition law while striving to limit its potential for abuse.
