Supreme Court's Directive to the Union Government
On Friday, the Supreme Court instructed the Union government to address a petition that challenges the constitutional legitimacy of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as reported by a legal news outlet.
This section of the criminal law addresses actions that threaten India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity. It criminalizes a broad range of expressive activities, particularly targeting those who intentionally use language to incite secession, rebellion, or subversive actions.
The petition asserts that this provision effectively reinstates the colonial-era sedition law.
A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria acknowledged the petition filed by SG Vombatkere, a retired major general from the Indian Army, and linked it with another ongoing case contesting the same provision.
In his submission, Vombatkere noted that in May 2022, the court had ordered a halt to proceedings and criminal cases related to sedition under Section 124A of the previous Indian Penal Code.
However, he contended that Section 124A was reintroduced under the guise of Section 152 when the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Indian Penal Code in July 2024.
“This provision effectively reintroduces the colonial sedition law previously codified as Section 124A of the IPC, 1860, under a new name,” the petition stated.
“While the wording has changed, the core content—criminalizing vague and broad categories of speech and expression such as ‘subversive activity’, ‘encouragement of separatist feelings’, and acts ‘endangering unity or integrity of India’—remains unchanged or has even expanded,” it further elaborated.
The petition also claimed that Section 152 violates fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Constitution. Article 14 addresses equality, Article 19(1)(a) pertains to free speech, and Article 21 concerns the right to life and personal liberty.
The “overreaching” language in Section 152, which includes terms like encouraging separatist activities, fails to meet constitutional validity due to its vagueness, excessive breadth, chilling effect, disproportionate penalties, and lack of a direct connection to public disorder.
Introduction of New Criminal Laws
Three new criminal laws—the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023—came into effect on July 1, 2024.
These laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
When the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was introduced, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the new legislation “completely repealed” the sedition law under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.
“Everyone has the right to speak,” the home minister stated at the time. “We are entirely abolishing sedition.”
Nevertheless, critics have contended that Section 152 of the BNS represents a “new iteration” of a colonial-era sedition law, which has been misused to intimidate, harass, and persecute human rights advocates, activists, and journalists for exercising their freedom of expression.
