SC to listen to pleas challenging validity of sedition law on May 10

05-05-2022

The apex court grants Centre time till Saturday to file reply

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it'd hear arguments on May 10 on the legal question whether the pleas challenging the colonial era penal law on sedition be brought up a bigger bench and granted time to the Centre to file its response.

A special bench comprising jurist N V Ramana and Justices Surya kant and Hima Kohli commenced hearing arguments on a batch of pleas against the sedition law and after sometime adjourned it to next Tuesday.

At the outset, law officer Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, sought few more days' time for filing the reply, saying the draft response made by lawyers awaits approval by competent authority because the issue is of utmost importance.

Secondly, some fresh matters are served recently and also the contents of these pleas also needed a response.

List this matter on next Tuesday at 2 pm. The law officer to file counter (affidavit) by Monday. No further adjournments (will be granted), the CJI said.

The bench, on April 27, had directed the Central government to file the reply saying it'd commence the ultimate hearing within the matter on May 5 and wouldn't entertain any request for adjournment.

Concerned over the big misuse of the penal law on sedition, the highest court in July last year had asked the Centre why it absolutely was not repealing the supply employed by British people to silence people like Gandhi to suppress the liberty movement.

Agreeing to look at the pleas filed by the Editors Guild of India and former Major-General S G Vombatkere, challenging the Constitutionality of Section 124A (sedition) within the IPC, the apex court had said its main concern was the "misuse of law" resulting in rise in number of cases.