NEW DELHI: The
Supreme Court on Tuesday declined the Union government's request to defer examining the validity of sedition provision under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.
The Centre said the sedition provision has been revised under the new proposed penal code, which at present, is pending consideration of a parliamentary standing committee.
A three-judge bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud referred the bunch of petitions challenging validity of sedition provision to a five-judge bench.
The five-judge bench will decide if the apex court decision dating back to 1962 in the Kedarnath Singh case upholding validity of IPC Section 124A, required reconsideration.
The top court also said that if the five-judge bench decides to review the 1962 judgment, it can refer the issue to a seven-judge bench or re-interpret the law. The court also noted that the sedition was made cognisable for the first time in 1973 by the Indira Gandhi-led government at the Centre, after which arrests became norm under this provision.