“Will you hold sedition law till review done”: SC asks Centre to file reply

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file on Wednesday its stand on whether all sedition cases filed across the country could be kept in abeyance or on hold till the Union of India finishes re-considering Section 124-A (Sedition Law) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"You (Centre) file your reply by tomorrow on the issue of all sedition cases filed across the country could be kept in abeyance or on hold till it is being decided for re-considering Section 124-A IPC," said a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana and also comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli.

The Supreme Court fixed the matter for further hearing the case on Wednesday. The court also agreed with the Centre's suggestion to defer the hearing of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the offence of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code till it reconsiders the provision.

The court has sought the response of the Centre on the status of pending and future cases till the government takes a decision.

The apex court was considering the preliminary issue as to whether a reference to a larger bench is required as a five-judge bench in Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar had retained the section after reading it down.

"Mehta, we are making it very clear. We want instructions. We will give you time till tomorrow. Our specific queries are about the pending cases and how government will take care of future cases. These are the two issues on which we want the government to respond," the Bench remarked.

The main contention raised by the petitioner was if an adjournment was indeed granted, how the interests of people who are already booked under Section 124-A can be protected and if future cases can be kept abeyance till reconsideration is over.

The Solicitor General has been asked to get instructions on this. When the bench assembled on Tuesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the Centre had filed a reply informing the court that it has chosen to reexamine and reconsider Section 124A of the IPC.

The Centre had on Monday filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court and said that it wanted to re-look and re-examine the sedition law. The Center said that it wanted to work on removing outdated colonial laws.

It said that the Prime Minister was cognizant of divergent views on sedition law, concerns raised about misuse, the Centre said.

The Centre had asked the Supreme Court not to consider the petitions challenging sedition law and wait for reconsideration exercise to be conducted by Center.

The Home Ministry had filed a three-page affidavit two days after it said that the Kedarnath judgement upheld the sedition law. (UNI)