Sloganeering against government not sufficient ground to slap sedition charges: High Court
The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that sloganeering against the government does not constitute sedition under Section 124-A of the IPC. The court upheld the acquittal of four individuals, clarifying that dissent and frustration do not equate to hatred or disaffection toward the state.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces the legal threshold for sedition in India, protecting citizens' rights to express dissent in a democracy even during periods of civil unrest.
Sloganeering against the government or any wing of governance in an elected democracy would not be sufficient grounds to slap sedition charges against citizens, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held.
A slogan against the government is only a means of expressing dissent and not hatred/contempt or disaffection; it was observed while upholding the acquittal of four Kaithal residents in connection with an incident in 2017 after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction in a rape case.
A violent protest may amount to rioting, but such acts of violence would not be perceived as an act of bringing in hatred or contempt against the government, the High Court observed.
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