New Delhi: Acknowledging that the definition of sedition law is ‘very wide’, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday said it is being reviewed by the Law Commission.
The comments of the government came after members in Rajya Sabha demanded that the law should be scrapped terming it as a colonial legacy and a “relic”.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh agreed for an all-party meeting to discuss the issue after the Law Commission submits its report on the issue which has generated a lot of heat in the wake of JNU controversy. The Home Minister stated that the “Law Commission is carrying out a review regarding this law. Our government has said that they should submit the report as soon as possible.”
The government also rejected Opposition charge that it was rampantly using the law and pointed out that except the one case of JNU, sedition cases have mostly been registered outside Delhi. “Anybody, who speaks against the government can be booked under sedition law. Amendments have been suggested because the definition is very wide. That is why concerns were have been raised. I would like the ask the Law Commission to consider a very comprehensive review,” Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said during Question Hour.
Mr Rijiju said the Law Commission, in its 42nd report, had noted that the sedition law is “defective” but did not favour its deletion. He said that in another report also, the Commission sought a change in the defintion of sedition but did not favour the scrapping of the law.
Asked whether any timeframe has been fixed for the Law Commission to submit its report, Mr Rijiju said the Home Ministry has from time to time written to Ministry of Law and Justice to speed up the process. He rejected opposition charge that the NDA government was rampantly using the law. Mr Rijiju pointed out, “It is registered in Telangana not Delhi,” alluding to the sedition case lodged against Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal. He said a total of 47 cases under the sedition law were reported across the country in 2014.
