Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Supreme court advocate Nalin Kohli on Monday welcomed the Centre's decision to review the provisions of Section 124A which criminalises the offence of sedition and termed any political comments on it inappropriate.
Kohli said, "It should definitely be seen as a positive development. In the last 8 years, the Narendra Modi government scrapped over 1500 such old laws which were not required in the society today."
Speaking about the Centre's decision on reconsideration of the sedition law on the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the SC lawyer said that any political statement will be inappropriate at this time. The government does not want to see it as a conflict between two parties.
"With regards to the sedition law, it has been held to be constitutionally violent by a Supreme Court judgement in the past. The matter is before the SC. When the government puts out its view in such a positive manner, it means that it wants to study the rule either by the executive route or legislature route rather than seeing it being examined by the judicial route in terms of a conflict between two sides. So one should wait for the further details on it before starting politics on it," Kohli added.
He further said that the government is consistently making an attempt to ensure such an environment, for the business community or in this case, individuals, for this whatever needs to be done to make it easier should be done.
Notably, the Central government today informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A which criminalises the offence of sedition and requested it not to take up the case till the matter is examined by the government.
The Centre, in a fresh affidavit, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is of the firm view that the baggage of colonial-era laws, which outlived their utility, must be scrapped during the period of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' (75 years of independence).
In that spirit, the government of India has scrapped over 1,500 outdated laws since 2014-15, it said.
"It has also ended over 25,000 compliance burdens which were causing unnecessary hurdles to the people of our country. Various offences which were causing mindless hindrances to people have been de-criminalised. This is an ongoing process. These were laws and compliances which reeked of a colonial mindset and thus have no place in today's India," the Centre said.
"The Centre being fully cognizant of various views being expressed on the subject of sedition and also having considered the concerns of civil liberties and human rights, while committed to maintain and protect the sovereignty and integrity of this great nation, has decided to reexamine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A of the IPC which can be done only before the competent forum," the affidavit said while requesting the apex court to await the outcome of the Centre's exercise to re-examine Section 124A.
( With inputs from ANI )
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