NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Women Lawyers Forum has written to the Supreme Court, urging it to revisit the Constitutional validity of Section 124A (Sedition) of the IPC, in light of alleged illegal arrest and detention of climate activist Disha Ravi in connection with the Greta Thunberg 'toolkit' case.
"The recent events where a young environmental activist Disha Ravi has been arrested by Delhi Police in Bengaluru and brought to Delhi on February 14 without following any prescribed legal procedures and without there being any apparent reason for arrest, are appalling," the letter stated while stressing that Disha has no criminal antecedent and she was willing to cooperate with the investigation and there is no evidence to suggest that she was working with any banned organisations.
The Forum claimed the law of sedition under Section 124A of the IPC is being "misused to terrorise young and patriotic Indians" and the time has come for the Supreme Court to revisit the issue of the Constitutionality of the section and remove this "redundant colonial tool for silencing citizens in a democracy".
"We feel that the Bar and Bench cannot watch silently as young people are forced into long incarceration. Even when the slow wheels of justice come to their aid and uphold their innocence, they lose the best years of their youth and the opportunity to serve the nation with their idealism," the Forum said.
"History will wonder where the Indian Judicial system was when the Anne Franks of India were being dragged away without due process of law or any offence commensurate to our Constitutional Scheme," the Forum added.