A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE SEDITION LAW REGIME IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES

Author – ANINDYA BHAN, STUDENT AT CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

Best Citation – ANINDYA BHAN, A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE SEDITION LAW REGIME IN INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES, Indian Journal of Legal Review (IJLR), 3 (2) of 2023, Pg. 100-106,  APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

All legislative and executive activities in India must comply with the provisions of the Constitution because it is the country’s supreme law. The most fundamental, inherent, and natural right that each man is endowed with from the moment of his birth is the right to free expression, which is protected by Article 19(1)(a). The most fundamental human right is therefore the freedom of speech and expression, whose restriction is a flagrant breach of human rights and cannot be permitted in any contemporary democratic government. Not always is the right to free speech guaranteed. By criminalising any kind of expression that incites hatred, contempt, or disaffection toward a legally created government in India, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 places restrictions on the right to freedom of speech and expression of the people. The punishment outlined in this section seems somewhat irrational considering that those found guilty under this part may get a life sentence. Its effectiveness in the contemporary democratic system is called into question as a result. There is constant discussion about the necessity and applicability of this clause in a democratic and independent India. There have been examples of the law of sedition being misused both before and after independence, which has raised major questions about whether such a legislation is necessary today. The First Amendment, on the other hand, guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression in the USA, a country whose government is built on democratic principles. Despite having liberal and democratic beliefs, the US continues to have a sedition legislation, although the US Supreme Court has gradually limited its use over time.  The Sedition Act, passed in 1798, established sedition as a criminal offence for the first time in the US. This paper, revolves around the effort to analyse the current sedition statute in light of Article 19(1)(a) and seeks to determine if such a law is necessary in the current Indian context by doing a comparative analysis of the sedition laws in the United States.

Key Words: Sedition, Constitution of India, Comparative Public Law, US Constitution.