अब आप न्यूज्ड हिंदी में पढ़ सकते हैं। यहाँ क्लिक करें
Home » India » Sedition law to be paused till it’s re-examined, those already charged can approach courts for bail: Supreme Court

Sedition law to be paused till it’s re-examined, those already charged can approach courts for bail: Supreme Court

SC asks Centre, states to refrain from registering any FIR invoking sedition charges.

By Newsd
Updated on :
Centre urges SC to allow NEET-PG counselling, SC closes arguments, to give verdict soon

Sedition law to be paused till it’s re-examined, those already charged can approach courts for bail, remarked Supreme Court on Wednesday.

SC asks Centre, states to refrain from registering any FIR invoking sedition charges.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said all pending cases, appeals and proceedings with respect to charges framed for sedition should be kept in abeyance. Reliefs granted to the accused by courts would continue, it said and fixed the third week of July for hearing pleas challenging the validity of the provision; by then, the Centre would have the time to undertake the exercise to re-examine the provision.

Earlier, during the hearing, the Centre suggested that a superintendent of police ranked officer could be made responsible for monitoring the registration of FIRs for the offence of sedition.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench, which also comprised Justices Surya kant and Hima Kohli, that the registration of FIRs for the offence of sedition cannot be prevented as the provision dealt with a cognisable offence and was upheld by a Constitution bench in 1962.

With regard to pending sedition cases, the Centre suggested that hearing on bail pleas in such matters may be expedited as the government did not know the gravity of offence in each case and they may have terror or money laundering angles.

”Ultimately, pending cases are before judicial forum and we need to trust courts,” the law officer told the bench.

On Tuesday, the bench had asked the Centre make its stand clear within 24 hours on keeping the pending sedition cases in abeyance to protect the interests of citizens already booked and not registering fresh cases till the government’s re-examination of the colonial-era penal law is over.

Related