The curious workings of the Sedition Law in India

Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code states the following:

“Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

Explanation 1 – The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

Explanation 2 – Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

Explanation 3 – Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.”

 

The Indian Express has recently reported that sedition charges were imposed on five minors for dancing to ‘anti-India’ song. The FIR has been registered at the Nisarganj police station in Rohtas district of western Bihar (https://indianexpress.com/article/india/five-minors-face-sedition-charge-for-dancing-to-anti-india-song-5224928/). As reported, the incident occurred when about 150 people aged between 10 and 22 years took out a “channd julus (moon procession)” a day before Eid, after hiring a DJ, named Ashish Kumar, a local resident. The FIR was registered against eight people – the event’s organizer, DJ, his driver and five minors who were found dancing to the song – this is apart from 20 other unidentified people. According to the FIR, a person named Chandan Thathera shot the video and later handed it to a local Bajrang Dal leader, Manoj Bajrangi, who gave the video clip to the police.

The lyrics of the contentious song, which was played in between other songs being played, if roughly translated, go as follows – “We are Pakistani mujahids, protectors of Earth; if you challenge us even by mistake, we will cut you up.”

Without going into the legitimacy of invoking Section 124-A in this case in general, it is pertinent to examine the same at least with respect to its invocation against the minors, who danced to the song. It will be interesting to see how these charges against the minors are sustained and substantiated, in view of what Section 124A defines as sedition, which is stated above. First and foremost, these individuals were not the ones who played the song. Secondly, it was one among the many songs to be played and the accused happened to dance to the song in the flow of things. If such is not the case, then it needs to be proved that the steps that were used by the accused while dancing to this song were different from the ones they were using while dancing to the other songs and that these specific steps were such that they could fall into the category of ‘attempting to bring into hatred or contempt, or exciting or attempting to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India’. If such is not the case then all those who happened to listen to the song may be held equally responsible for sedition, which sounds laughable.

The above conjectures sound completely implausible, far-fetched and imaginary. However, the truth is that the invocation of this law has more often than not been done on such flimsy grounds. As much as the presence of the law in the Penal Code of an independent and democratic India itself, has been questioned and condemned vociferously, its casual invocation, in almost all the cases, has been repeatedly brought to light. Yet, no government of independent India has ever attempted to scrap this contentious law, although it is nothing more than a relic of a colonial past. Rather, this law has often been clandestinely used to impose the authority of the state or may be to settle scores on some other front.

Incidentally, in this case, it will be useful and interesting to go through some of the statements of the relatives of the arrested minors. The elder brother of one accused, who studies in class VI, said, “The children were dancing in joy. Most of them realized that some objectionable and controversial song had been played only after the ruckus following police intervention.” Father of another boy said, “Sedition charges against these little boys have hurt us badly. There has never been any communal riot in Nisarganj’s history. In this town you can still hear azaan (call of prayer from a mosque) and Ram dhun (Hindu devotional song), going on simultaneously.”

Food for thought. Isn’t it?