The Ghost of Shaheen Bagh

 

Gandhi arrested under Sedition Laws

Section 124 (a) of the Indian Penal Code deals with Sedition. It states - Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.

This section gives three explanations.

Explanation 1.—The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

Explanation 2.—Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

Explanation 3.—Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

The section read with the explanations would define sedition as any communication done that would cause hatred and contempt; or would rouse disaffection towards the Government of the country through a call for (violent) activity.

Recently separate F.I.Rs was filed against activist and research scholar Sharjeel Imam by five states Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Delhi citing this sedition section for a speech he made in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The relevant portions of the translated speech where Imam is addressing a few research scholars / University students are as follows. The context is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Parliament that, for the first time, makes religion as a criteria for citizenship.

1. Let me give you an example of Bihar, there are huge rallies being held there, every other day.
2. In Kannaiya's rally itself there were around five lakhs of people.
3. Please note that if five lakh people are with us, we can permanently cut India and North East.
4. Not permanently, but surely we can cut them off for at least a couple of months.
5. Dump so much material (?) on the tracks, that it would take months for them to clear them
6. Let them go by air force.
7. It is our responsibility to cut Assam from the rest of India.
8. It is only then that they will listen to us.
9. You are aware of the position of the Muslims in Assam.
10. CAA is already passed, lives are already being lost in detention camps.
11. It is an open massacre there.
12. Within a six odd months, we could hear that all Bengalis  are killed - Hindus or Muslims.
13. To help Assam, we have to block roads for the Army; and for any other supplies that go in there.
14. We sure can do it, because that area called the chicken neck is a Muslim area.
15. People like Kannaiyaa will make them shout slogans, will pose for photos and come back.
16. The claps (?) will be from our people, but the face will be his; this is not productive.
17. Remember, if the people are angry, then it is our responsibility to chanalise that anger productively rather than waste it in photo secessions. .

Was Sharjeel Imam expressing a 'disapprobation' (strong disapproval) and 'disaffection' (feeling of being dissatisfied) towards of the 'measures of the Government', as per explanations to the section 124A? Yes, indeed he was. The Shreya Singhal Vs Union of India Case judgment defines three concepts in Free Speech - 'discussion', 'advocacy' and 'incitement'. If the later two reach the level of incitement such that public order or sovereignty of state is threatened, then it is unlawful.  

Was Sharjeel Imam exciting 'disloyalty' or 'feelings of enmity' against the state, as per explanations to the section 124A? Going by the gist of his speech, the predominant thing that is being communicated by him to the people around him was the need for them to 'do' something so that the their (Muslim) voices could be heard by 'their' own government.

Was Sharjeel Imam 'exciting' or 'trying to excite' people to a certain 'hatred', 'contempt', 'disapprobation' or 'disaffection' towards the Government of the day, as per section 124A? None of the seventeen sentences suggest that he was doing so.  In fact as manifested in sentence 8 of Shrajeel Imam, the intention was to get the government to bring about an 'alteration' to its 'measures' - in this case the CAA - in accordance with explanation 2 of Section 124A.  

Was Sharjeel Imam trying to bring about an 'alternation' to the 'measures' of the Government by 'unlawful means' such as putting the 'sovereignty of state' at stake? Well, in sentence 3 he does speak about cutting Assam permanently from India, but quickly in the next few sentences (4,5, and 6) corrects himself and modifies his idea into which supplies to Assam would be cut off for three to four months by blocking the roads and tracks; but not the airways.

Was Sharjeel Imam trying to bring about an 'alternation' to the 'measures' of the Government by 'unlawful means' such as using or propagating violent means that it would affect 'public order'? There is nothing in this translated paragraph that would suggest that. Since prior to this paragraph, Sharjeel Imam is seen condemning the violence of both the Left wing and Right Wing student groups, it would be fair to assume that he was not suggesting a violent blockage.

There are two aspects to sedition. One - the communication proposes to instigate hatred and contempt against the government. Two - it  leads to people to take up violence or create public disorder. Sharjeel Imam's speech however provocative it might sound to some, fails on both these counts. Why then has five F.I.R.s been filed against him by five different Indian states?  

Has it anything to do with the fact that these five states are either ruled by B.J.P. and its allies or have the home ministry under its control? It is said that Sharjeel Imam was one of the chief organisers of the long drawn Shaheen Bagh peaceful protests. Nip the thorn in your flesh, at its bud. Until the courts decide if it is sedition or not; a persistent voice against your ideology has been immobilized, put behind bars.  

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You can get to know more about Sedition laws in India on a consultation paper on sedition commissioned by the Law Commission of India, HERE.