Sedition

Two Hong Kongers were found guilty on a sedition charge on Thursday after they clapped and criticised the judge during a previous trial over a banned Tiananmen Square vigil in the city. Garry Pang Moon-yuen, a pastor, and Chiu Mei-ying, a housewife, were arrested in April for disturbances they made in a court hearing in January when a leader of the group that organised the Hong Kong vigil was sentenced for inciting others to join the prohibited event last year. Hong Kong is undergoing a political crackdown following widespread protests in 2019 and the imposition of a sweeping national security law in 2020, with many prominent activists in the pro-democracy camp having been arrested or jailed. Besides the national security law, a growing number of dissidents have also been charged for colonial-era sedition offenses. Pang and Chiu, instead of being charged with contempt of court, were charged with uttering seditious words. Pang reportedly told the judge you have lost your conscience

A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to former JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a sedition case in which he was accused of instigating the Jamia riots here in 2019. Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal granted him relief in the matter. A detailed order from the court is awaited. In the New Friends Colony case, Imam was arrested for instigating and abetting the Jamia riots, due to his seditious speech delivered on December 13, 2019. During the investigation, police invoked sections 124 A (sedition) and 153 A IPC (promoting enmity between classes) against him. However, Imam, who is in judicial custody since January 2020, will continue to remain in jail as he is yet to secure bail in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Court recorded the examination-in-chief of Dharmendra Kumar, Deputy Secretary, MHA on Wednesday

Assam was followed by Haryana with 42 cases reported in the last eight years. Jharkhand and Karnataka followed Haryana with 40 and 38 cases respectively

Why is India facing a shortage of gig workers? Will India's policies help it win the EV race? Will summer cheer hydrate consumer durable stocks? What is sedition law? All answers here

Conviction rate almost unchanged; charge sheet filed in less than 50% cases in most years

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra said the legislature should have re-examined the relevance of sedition a long time ago

A special bench comprising CJ N V Ramana and Justices Surya kant and Hima Kohli commenced hearing arguments on a batch of pleas against the sedition law and after sometime adjourned it to next Tuesday

On Tuesday, the court asked the Mumbai police to file on April 29 their reply to the jailed couple's bail plea

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, was on Thursday released from a prison here on bail, after spending three years in jail

A private school teacher in Rajasthan's Udaipur was arrested on Wednesday, a day after she was sacked by the school management for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status celebrating Pakistan's victory

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Saturday

Sedition law isn't just a colonial hangover. It's a convenient weapon for under-performing governments to conflate themselves with the nation and use against critics

As the state government took serious view of the incident, heads rolled and Sirsa district police chief Bhupender Singh was transferred, while an Inspector-rank official was placed under suspension

The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre and the Attorney General on a plea challenging the constitutionality of the offence of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.

The statute has no place in a democracy

Refuses to stay HC order granting bail to three students in Delhi riots case

JNU students Narwal and Kalita thanked their friends and well-wishers, many of whom gathered outside the jail, for supporting them during their year-long stay behind bars

Delhi High Court raises the bar on UAPA application

Grants bail to JNU student in anti-CAA protests case