Supreme Court: Suspension of law enforcement

-Galla S Kiran Kumar,Bureau Chief Telagana( Andhra Pradesh)

Do not register new cases under Section    124A The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice CJI Justice NV Ramana has made a h

istoric decision to take action on the
FIRs already filed
and take stern action.

On the one hand, the duties of the state .. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has taken into account the civil rights of the people. A balance needs to be struck between the two. The petitioner’s main argument is that Section 124A of 1890 is now being abused. The Attorney General also said that Hanuman was trying to recite the Chalisa but was registering cases under treason and abusing the law.

-Justice NV Ramana


The country’s Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling on the most controversial treason law. The indictment provided relief to those languishing in prisons. Tighten the lid on indiscriminately registered cases.

Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is a key directive of the Central Government to review it and suspend its implementation until further notice. The bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, Justice Suryakant and Justice Himakohli on Wednesday issued interim orders to this effect. It clarified that the central and state governments should exercise restraint in registering new cases under the treason law as the constitutional aspect is under government reconsideration. All cases, appeals and proceedings already registered under Section 124A of the IPC are currently pending. It said that if cases were registered against anyone under this section as well as other sections, the inquiry could continue under the remaining sections. The court adjourned the next hearing on the petitions filed challenging the treason law to the third week of July. The decision of the Supreme Court bench was welcomed by all the opposition parties and the Editors’ Guild. The central government, however, referred to the ‘target line’ that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary should not overstep their bounds. The bench of Justice NV Ramana on Wednesday passed the order following an affidavit filed by the Union Home Ministry that the Union government was ready to reconsider its provision under Section 124A. The tribunal’s decision came in the wake of the Central Government filing an affidavit accepting the court’s suggestion that this section, which was once enacted during the reign of the British rulers, was not in line with current social conditions and should therefore be reconsidered. The bench of Justice NV Ramana on Wednesday passed the order following an affidavit filed by the Union Home Ministry that the Union government was ready to reconsider its provision under Section 124A. The tribunal’s decision came in the wake of the Central Government filing an affidavit accepting the court’s suggestion that this section, which was once enacted during the reign of the British rulers, was not in line with current social conditions and should therefore be reconsidered. The bench of Justice NV Ramana on Wednesday passed the order following an affidavit filed by the Union Home Ministry that the Union government was ready to reconsider its provision under Section 124A. The tribunal’s decision came in the wake of the Central Government filing an affidavit accepting the court’s suggestion that this section, which was once enacted during the reign of the British rulers, was not in line with current social conditions and should therefore be reconsidered.

Key points in the tribunal orders ..

* The apex court said it expects the central and state governments to exercise restraint in registering new FIRs under Section 124A of the IPC, continuing investigations and taking coercive measures as the Sedition Act (Sedition‌ Law) is under review. Stated that it was inappropriate to use this section of the Act until the review was completed.

* The process of registration of pending trials, appeals and indictments in treason cases should be stopped. If the case is registered under Section 124A and other provisions, the trial may be continued under those sections as per the permission of the courts.

* In addition to these instructions, the Center may issue any further directives to the State Governments and Union Territories without abusing Section 124A.

* Those who are already in jail facing cases under this section can approach the courts for bail. Victims are free to go to court and seek appropriate redress if any recent cases have been registered against them.

* Section 124A suggests that lower courts may also consider the issue of relief to clients as it is suspending enforcement.

* The tribunal clarified that these orders will remain in force till further orders of the Supreme Court.

Refusal to hand over the scrutiny of FIRs to the SPs

Arguments continued for some time before the tribunal issued its orders. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the apex court on Tuesday that he would know the central government’s intention to suspend the implementation of the treason provision until the central government completes its review. It is learned that the tribunal agreed and adjourned the hearing for one day. On Wednesday, the Solicitor General heard arguments that it was not up to the courts to prevent the registration of cases on punishable offenses under the Sedition Act. However, he said the central government had prepared a draft to be sent to the states to prevent abuse. The Solicitor General revealed that the draft included the responsibility of handing over the responsibility of examining the case to the SP level officer before registering the FIR. Terrorism in pending treason cases, The court noted that money laundering was also involved. He said the courts should be trusted to finalize pending cases. Should Justice Suryakanth intervene and consider it an impartial act for an SP level officer to examine the case before registering an FIR? Asked. The tribunal rejected the proposal that the FIRs be examined by an SP level officer. The judges then discussed the matter in person. The tribunal questioned how many people are currently in jail for having cases registered under Section-124A. Kapil Sibal, counsel for the petitioners, replied that there were about 13,000 people. CJI Justice NV Ramana later responded that the bench had discussed all the issues at length.

Who challenged in court ..

Editors Guild, Major General (Retd) SG Vombatkere, Former Union Minister Arun Shourie, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Kapil Sibal’s tense response

Kapil Sibal, counsel for the petitioners, reacted angrily to the orders issued by the Supreme Court. He told fellow lawyers that he had been saying since time immemorial that justice would be done in court on the matter and that it was now true. He commented that the courts have once again proven that they are institutions that defend democracy.

Celebrities among victims of treason cases ..

Following the order of the Supreme Court to suspend the implementation of Indian Penal Code 124A … cases registered under this provision have come up for discussion. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 356 cases were registered under this offense between 2015-2020. 548 people were arrested. Six of them were convicted and sentenced. Among the treason cases registered are Disharavi (toolkit case) from Bangalore, Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Kanhayya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirbhan Bhattacharya, late journalist Vinod Dua, Kerala journalist, journalist and journalist from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. (Gujarat), Aseem Trivedi (cartoonist, Kanpur), Vinayak Sen (pediatrician, Chhattisgarh), Simranjit Singh Mann (Punjab) and others.


Five cases in six years in the state

Today, Hyderabad: Five cases have been registered in the state in the last six years under Section 124A (treason) of IPC. No arrests have been made so far. In August 2014, the Madannapeta police in Hyderabad registered a case against an MP under the same section. A case has been registered against Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Achury and Arvind Kejriwal at the Saroor Nagar police station for allegedly participating in a rally chanting controversial slogans at the Delhi JNU.

Siddipet district Mulugu conspiracy case was registered against 54 people in 2016 on the pretext of collaborating with the Maoists .
TPF leader Nalamasu Krishna, who is the 33rd accused in the same case, has been booked in eight other sub-cases in different cases. Krishna said in the wake of the Supreme Court’s latest judgment that the by-law along with ‘124A ‘is being used to infringe on the fundamental rights of citizens. I was charged with treason and subpoena and imprisoned for almost a year. If the rights are to be enforced in the true sense, the attitude of the Supreme Court towards treason must also be taken on the by-law. In total, 2 cases of treason were registered in 2016, 1 in 2019 and 2 in 2020.


Who said anything about the verdict ..

Clear message to authoritarian rulers: Congress‌

The Supreme Court has made a historic judgment by repealing the treason law. The message is that it is not always possible to suppress the voice of truth. We need to listen to those who point out the mistakes of the government. Mistakes need to be corrected. Speaking the facts is not treason..patriotism. It is monarchy to listen to the facts. It is arrogance to suppress them.

That law should be repealed: The CPI (M)’s
treason law brought by the British rulers to suppress the freedom struggle was ever outdated. It should not be violated in the laws of independent India. It is a good omen that the Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of 124A of the Indian Penal Code. Misuse of the law has increased since the Modi government came to power in 2014. This should be abolished completely.

Since when are we demanding repeal: CPI General Secretary D. Raja introduced a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2011 demanding repeal of Section 124A of the IPC.
These legal provisions are anti-democratic. Supporters of dictatorial rule. The Supreme Court orders are meant to justify the attitude of the CPI.

Due to the positive suggestions of the Central Government …:
The Supreme Court orders on the suspension of the implementation of the BJP treason law should be viewed in the light of the positive suggestions made by the Central Government. The court accepted the government’s recommendations. The Prime Minister Modi government has removed 1500 obsolete laws.

Cross the line: The Union Minister of Justice
‘The government respects all legislative, executive and judicial systems. The courts must respect the government and the legislative system. Other systems should be the same. There is a clear dividing line between all these systems. No one should cross that line, ”said Union Justice Minister Kiran Rijiju. He was responding to a question from reporters after the Supreme Court’s decision