Supreme Court asks to keep pending sedition law cases in abeyance; seeks the response of Central government

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to inform whether they want to keep pending sedition cases in abeyance till the law is reconsidered. The Centre will announce its stand on the matter on Wednesday morning. The court asked the government if this provision can be kept in abeyance for further time till the reconsideration takes place. A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana asked the question while considering the case. Based on this, the court has postponed the petitions on sedition law till Wednesday.

The government informed the Supreme Court that it would review certain provisions of Section 124A of the Sedition law. But the Centre did not give an exact answer as to how long it will take to complete it. The court also asked whether the Central Government could issue directions to all states for cases under Section 124A until the promised exercise is completed.

The apex court bench had expressed concern over the misuse of the sedition law. Chief Justice NV Ramana had said that the AG had pointed out that the sedition law had been applied even for chanting Hanuman Chalisa. The Centre had yesterday told the court that it was ready to reconsider the sedition law but asked that the court should refrain from examining its constitutional validity.