The Supreme Court on Friday (August 8, 2025) sought the Centre’s response to a petition claiming that Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 is “repackaged” the colonial sedition law.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai issued notice to the Union government on a petition filed by S.G. Vombatkere, represented by advocate Prasanna S.
Explained | India’s sedition law, its usage, and the opinions around it
The petition said the apex court had ordered court proceedings and criminal prosecutions for sedition under Section 124A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) to be kept in abeyance in an order in May 2022.
However, when BNS replaced the British-era IPC in July 2024, Section 124A was slipped in again into the statute book in the guise of Section 152, the petition submitted.
