Sedition: The conundrum between disloyalty against the govt and freedom of speech

Given below are common scenarios discussed by Courts which may be considered as seditious:

Seditious Literature

Under the law on sedition, authorship, distribution or possession of seditious literature can amount to an convictable offence. In Raghubir Singh v. State of Bihar, it was held that one need not be the author of seditious literature; the mere distribution or circulation of seditious material is also sufficient for an arrest and subsequent conviction, depending on the facts of the case. However, in Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras, it was held that merely authoring one piece of mildly seditious literature does not amount to sedition. Further, in Dr. Vinayak Binayak Sen Pijush Piyush Babun Guha v. State of Chhattisgarh, it was held that possession of seditious literature can also be grounds for punishment under this law.

Critiquing Government

The law on sedition under the IPC clarifies that comments that merely express disapproval of the measures of the government with the purpose of gaining its alteration through lawful means do not constitute sedition, and neither do comments that are expressing disapproval of administrative, or any other action of the Government. This view was upheld and validated by the judiciary in the case of Sanskar Marathe v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.

Slogans and Posters

Raising slogans or the use of posters can be considered seditious only if there is an attempt/cause for hatred or contempt against the Government or if they lead to violence or public disorder. It was held in Balwant Singh and Anr v. State of Punjab that raising casual slogans which did not elicit any response from any community or person cannot be considered to be sedition.

Involvement in a banned organization group

It was held in Arup Bhuyan v. State of Assam and Indra Das v. State of Assam that it is not an act of sedition if a person is merely a member of a banned organisation unless he causes/incites violence or creates public disorder by violence or incitement to violence. The same principle was upheld in Dr. Vinayak Binayak Sen Pijush v. State of Chhattisgarh case, but in this case, it was proved that the appellants had caused violence (such as, damaging police vehicles, attacking members of the armed forces, etc.) through the use of documents (nasality pamphlets, booklets, letters). to cause violence by damaging police vehicles, attacking and killing members of armed forces.

Cartoons/Drawings

In the famous case of Sanskar Marathe v. State of Maharashtra and Ors. where the cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was booked for sedition, it was held that cartoons, caricatures, visual representations, signs, etc. can be witty, humorous, sarcastic or even express anger, but the right of speech and expression allows one to express one’s indignation towards the Government. As long as the cartoons, etc. do not incite violence or have the tendency to create any public disorder, it is not sedition.

The incidents given above are only an indicative list of acts that have or have not been considered as seditious in nature, but there is a chance that a person may be arrested or convicted under this law for other acts or incidents as well. Every case that appears before the Court, is tested against existing cases like Kedar Nath or Nazir Khan, but primary weightage is given to the facts of the case before the Court.

If you are arrested by the police for sedition, remember to contact a lawyer and request for bail. Many cases such as Sakal v Union of India have discussed the right to freedom of speech and expression as an inherent right but since there are no pre-arrest requirements, there is a high chance of being arrested for sedition. Multiple lawyers have requested Courts to lay down guidelines or standards for arrest, like in the case of Common Cause v Union of India requesting mandatory involvement of authorities like the Director General of Police or Magistrate to certify acts of sedition to prevent unwarranted arrests. Despite such requests, there has been no indication so far on any change in the way the colonial era law is going to be dealt with. Multiple discussions are taking place even today on whether this archaic law should be removed, but in the meanwhile, you should take all possible steps to stay safe in this politically charged environment where there is a very thin line between your freedom of speech and expression and the act of sedition.

Malavika Rajkumar is the Content Lead and Kadambari Agarwal is the Research Assistant at Nyaaya, an initiative of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, New Delhi.