Former SC judge pitches for sedition law

Hyderabad: Former Solicitor General of India N Santosh Hegde on Monday said he was in ‘favour’ of the sedition law as some ‘restrictions’ were needed to stop people from abusing and talking against the country. The retired Supreme Court judge argued that the act of some JNU students, who allegedly termed the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as ‘judicial murder’ and raised anti-India slogans, ‘definitely amounts’ to sedition.
JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on sedition charges earlier this month. Five students, accused of sedition and missing for days, surfaced on the JNU campus late on Sunday night. “I believe in sedition law. I am a patriot. Any patriot cannot go on abusing the country. There are certain parameters,” the former Karnataka Lokayukta said a news agency.

“Many people think differently in this country whose allegiance is with some other country or some other group… If democracy has to survive, then there should be some restrictions on the people talking against the country. Forget all other things. You criticise the government, criticise the individuals, criticise the system. Patriotism can never be criticised,” he said.

Hegde said he did not believe in the previous judgment of the Supreme Court that said mere talk was not sedition and should be followed by actions, something contrary to law. “I don't believe in that judgment. Sedition means propagating some views which are against the nation. As long as the judgment of the Supreme Court is there, I am bound to say it is the law of the day today. I am one of those persons who would say that the judgment should be changed,” Hegde said, citing events in JNU after the February 9 controversial event, including violence in Patiala House.

“You can’t meddle with patriotism. Everything is alright (but) patriotism can never be compromised,” Hegde said. He strongly sought to counter those who favour junking the century-old sedition law saying it’s an archaic legislation and a relic of British colonialism. “What about Indian Penal Code. How old is it? You scrap Indian Penal Code because somebody is involved in a crime? It’s a 230-year-old act. You change it,” Hegde said, reacting angrily to suggestions in some quarters on scrapping the sedition law.

“In Pakistan what happened? A Virat Kohli's fan showed Indian flag and was sentenced for 10 years. No country can never ever compromise on its integrity. Forget everything else. So far as integrity of the nation is concerned, never ever compromise it,” Hegde said.The former SG said that there should be judicial
reforms.

“There was a time when we (judges) used to respect precedent law, that is, law laid down by the Superior Court or a larger bench had to be followed implicitly by other judges. Today, I don’t find that discipline. People either not notice earlier judgments, just bypass the judgment and deliver their judgment or they say on facts this is different from that case,” he said.