New Delhi: Rohinton Fali Nariman a retired Supreme Court Justice has urged the top court of India to strike down the sedition law and offensive parts of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
He said that the colonial decree along with those like the tough anti-terror law UAPA was harmful to the democracy.
“I would exhort the Supreme Court to not send sedition law cases pending before it back to Centre. Governments will come and go (but) it is important for the court to use its power and strike down Section 124A and the offensive portion of UAPA. Then citizen here would breathe more freely,” said Justice Nariman said while speaking at a function organised by Viswanath Pasayat Memorial Committee.
Speaking at a function organised by the Viswanath Pasayat Memorial Committee. Justice Nariman pointed out that sedition was part of the original draft but not in the final version of the Indian Penal Code drawn up by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. It came into force in 1862.
The sedition law and UAPA have widely been used to suppress voices of marginalised communities particularly Muslims in India. Scores of Muslim activists and students are languishing in jails across India under the provisions of the UAPA. Web Desk
