Should Sedition Be Used As Excuse To Stifle Dissent?

The Bihar police have found 'maliciously false' the sedition case against 49 eminent citizens, filed by the local police in Muzaffarpur on the basis of an order by the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court. In the letter, addressed to the Prime Minister, these citizens had criticised the continuing mob lynchings in the country. They were vigorously countered by many who felt their views were wrong and their outrage selective, something which helped Pakistan. To this letter, there was yet another note by 180 personalities who said the Bihar police FIR was wrong. They were correct as investigations reveal the order was wrong, but the larger issue remains.