What should be considered sedition in law ?

 What Should Be Considered Sedition In Law?

Sedition has been in news for a very long time. Sedition is considered a crime against the state, this is a crime where the person uses his words to instigate the public against the state. This offense is viewed against public peace. 

Sedition has a long history in India, it was also followed in the British raj. Before independence, the British were paranoid of any freedom struggle and tried every bit to stop such a movement.  Indian heroes were also accused of sedition, such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and Jawaharlal Nehru. There was a famous case in the 19th century, Niharendra Dutt Majumdar v. King-Emperor, in this case, the court held that public disorder or the reasonable anticipation or likelihood of public disorder is the gist of the offense. This judgment was overruled by yet another case, King-Emperor v. Sadashiv Narayan Bhalerao.

 After  Independence laws related to sedition were dropped but in 1949, this word again appeared, in section 124A IN IPC. In 1973, section 124A was held as a cognizable offense. 

Article 19 is one of our fundamental rights, freedom of speech and expression, which is one of the most important rights this provide freedom to journalists to express themselves. This is a vital, aspect of democracy,  which helps us choose a leader as well as express ourselves.   In  1951, Jawaharlal Nehru amendmented the constitution and added some reasonable restrictions on this article. 

The question which arises is, all protests will be considered as sedition?

One of the longest protests in the world, known as the Farmer's protection in India was a representation of the anger of farmers on agriculture laws.  This is seen as a clear case of sedition but the Delhi High court mentioned that sedition can't be invoked. A case was raised in the court, wherein additional session judge Dharmender Rana gave the bail to two people and gave the reason as section 124 A  cannot be invoked to quieten the disquiet under the pretense of muzzling the miscreants. In farmer protest, 130 people were booked under various sections of IPC but two were booked under sedition.

After going through the information I view, that sedition can be considered as a weapon in the hands of the state, this weapon can be used in a very disturbing manner. We the people of India are given the freedom to express our thoughts, though one can't deny that this freedom has some restrictions. But our views are one of the weapons which can put our viewpoint forward. Protest is one of the methods therefore, restricting use from using such method is a disgrace. I believe that there can be an amendment in section 124 A. This will not give unnecessary power to the govt. and provide with check and balance 

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