NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that courts can hear trials pertaining to Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to sedition, if the accused has no objection to it.
The clarification from a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi came during the hearing of a plea by an accused who has been in jail for 17 years in a sedition case.
“The petitioner’s grievance is that he has no objection if his criminal appeal is heard in its entirety, including with respect to the charge under Section 124-A. That being so, we clarify... that wherever the accused has no objection against the proceeding of the trial, appeal, or any other proceeding where he has been chargesheeted under Section 124-A IPC, also, there shall be no impediment for the courts to decide such matters on merits and in accordance with law,” the bench said.
The apex court asked the Madhya Pradesh High Court to hear the petitioner’s appeal and decide the same on merit. The appeal filed by the accused is pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
In a landmark order passed on May 11, 2022, the apex court had put the penal provision on sedition on hold till the Centre completed its promised review of the colonial-era relic and also asked the Union and state governments not to register any fresh cases invoking the offence. It had also directed that the ongoing probes, pending trials, and all proceedings under the sedition law would be kept in abeyance nationwide.
The offence of sedition, which was included in section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 1890, has been under intense public scrutiny.
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