CONSTITUTION BENCH TO HEAR PLEAS AGAINST COLONIAL-ERA SEDITION LAW: SC

The bench directed the SC registry to present the case documents to CJI.

- ASHISH SINHA

The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the colonial-era sedition provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to a constitution bench comprising a minimum of five judges.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, rejected the Centre’s request to delay the reference to a larger bench, citing Parliament’s ongoing process of re-enacting the penal code’s provisions.

The bench has directed the Supreme Court registry to present the case documents to the Chief Justice for consideration on the administrative front, with the aim of forming a bench comprising “at least five judges.”

The bench led by the Chief Justice rejected the government’s request to postpone the hearing due to its plans to introduce new criminal laws. The Chief Justice noted that criminal legislation has a prospective effect and does not apply retrospectively. Therefore, if an act is classified as a crime in 2023, individuals who committed it before 2023 cannot be punished.