Lawmakers Must Examine: Does Free India Need a Sedition Law?

Since the Disha Ravi case has sparked fresh discussions on the sedition law, it is worthwhile examining the case law that pertains to this provision. There is a view that Naxalism, the Kashmir issue, and other regional disturbances justify this law. In that case, why does India have separate penal provisions for secessionism and armed conflict? MOHD ZEESHAN AHMAD AND ZAIN HAIDER explore the implications of sedition through its history.

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SUHAS Palshikar observes in his 2017 book, Indian Democracy, that "…the future trajectory of democracy in India is predicated on people's engagement with a lively critique of existing democratic practice, their informed interest in democratic contestations, and in the final, popular initiative." For any of this to happen, Palshikar suggests, the socio-economic field must be democratised and democratic norms should become entrenched.

If the ongoing protests against three controversial farm laws are examined in light of Palshikar's formulation, one can conclude that they are a sincere act that widens and deepens democracy. However, the arrest of Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old climate activist, on charges of sedition for creating and disseminating an online "protest toolkit" that outlines how to support the ongoing farmer protests, freezes the enterprise of deepening democracy. Disha's arrest criminalises something as essential as dissent which goes against the philosophy of free speech, a sine qua non for democracy.