Sedition
The offence of exciting disaffection or disloyalty against the government � a colonial-era law repealed by the BNS in 2023.
Full Definition
Sedition (IPC Section 124A) was the offence of exciting hatred, contempt, or disaffection towards the Government of India through words, signs, or representations. It was a colonial weapon used against independence leaders and continued to be misused post-independence. Disaffection did not include comments expressing disapprobation without exciting hatred. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 did not retain Section 124A � making sedition non-criminal for the first time since 1870.
In Indian Law
IPC Section 124A (now deleted by BNS 2023). The Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) narrowed sedition � only actual incitement to violence qualifies, mere criticism does not. In 2022, the Supreme Court in S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India ordered that all pending Section 124A cases be kept in abeyance and directed the government to reconsider the provision. The BNS 2023 replaced it with a different provision on acts endangering sovereignty (Section 152 BNS).
Landmark Cases
Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) � Narrowing sedition to incitement to violence