A bench comprising the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli to continue hearing TODAY on the petition challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 124A of Indian Penal Code which deals with the law of Sedition in India.
The bench will consider today the preliminary issue of whether a reference to a larger bench is required, as a 5-judge bench in the Kedar Nath decision of 1962 had retained the section after reading it down.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday through an affidavit that it has chosen to reexamine and reconsider Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises the offence of sedition.
The Centre submitted that there are divergent views expressed in the public domain by various jurists, academicians, intellectuals and citizens in general regarding this Section.
The Union has stated in the affidavit that in tune with the Prime Minister's notion that at a time when our nation is marking 75 years of independence, it intends to work towards shedding the 'colonial baggage' while justifying its decision.
In that spirit, the Centre submitted that it has scrapped over 1500 outdated laws since 2014-15. It has also ended over 25,000 compliance burdens which were causing unnecessary hurdles to the people of our country. Various offences which were causing mindless hindrances to people have been decriminalised, the affidavit said.
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