Maha govt drops sedition charges against cartoonist Aseem

The Maharashtra government on Friday dropped sedition charges against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, who was arrested in September 2012. The Attorney General told the Bombay High Court that the sedition charges against Aseem were a 'knee-jerk reaction'. The AG also said that the state will draft a circular on Section 124 A and this will be presented to the Chief Justice for approval, after which it will be sent out to all police stations.

Aseem was arrested on September 8 under IPC Section 124 (sedition), Section 66 A of Information Technology Act and Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to Nation Honour Act. He was released on September 12 after the Bombay High Court granted him bail.
The freelancer has been accused of putting up banners mocking the Constitution during a rally of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare late last year and posting the same on his website. Trivedi was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a member of Republican Party of India.
After coming out of the jail, Aseem had said he would continue to draw cartoons that raise issues like corruption, as people in large numbers thronged the railway station here to receive him. He said he would continue to oppose corruption through his cartoons, which he said would now spew more venom. He said it was his mission to root out corruption from the country.
Aseem Trivedi is also one of the contestants on the television reality show, Bigg Boss Season 6. He said he wanted one chance to talk to the masses, to the people of India. "I want to use the medium to drive the message of anti-corruption to every home," Aseem had said in an interview with IANS ahead of the show.