New Delhi: Now that Kanpur-based cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has been charged with sedition for his cartoons that 'mocked' the country's political class, Parliament and the national emblem, one has to bear in mind that the word "sedition" does not actually figure anywhere in the Indian Constitution. It is an offence against the state as enumerated in the Indian Penal Code which is an 1860 Act ratified by the British to rule over Indians. Section 124 A of the IPC was drawn up in 1860, just three years after the British East India Company had weathered the storm of the Sepoy Mutiny.
So yes, the case against Aseem is registered under Section 124A of the IPC that is an 1860 Act which defines sedition as: "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine."
A member of Repubican Party of India, Amit Katarnayea, had filed a complaint against Trivedi that the latter had put up banners mocking the Indian constitution during the Anna Hazare rally held last year at the Bandra Kurla Complex.
Before Aseem, Dr Binayak Sen was also charged under the same
12:07 PM, Sep 10, 2012
