Two days after firmly defending the country's colonial-era sedition law and asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the pleas challenging it, the government on Monday did an about-face, saying it has decided to review the legislation. The Supreme Court is hearing the plea today.
The Centre on Monday said it has decided to "re-examine and re-consider" the sedition law by an "appropriate forum", in a change of stance just two days after stoutly defending the colonial era penal law, and also urged the Supreme Court not to "invest time" in examining the validity of its provisions once again.
In a new affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the centre said, "In the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of Independence) and the vision of PM Narendra Modi, the Government of India has decided to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A, Sedition law."
