The sedition case against Lakshadweep filmmaker Aisha Sultana has all the undesirable indicators of the misuse of the penal provision: intolerance towards any strident criticism of policy, tendency to discern nonexistent threats to the state and deliberate resort to it despite the absence of any ingredient of the offence. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Kerala High Court has granted her anticipatory bail mainly on the ground that neither Section 124A, which penalizes seditious speech or writing, nor Section 153B, which seeks to punish imputations against national integration, is attracted. There may be some cause for those in The Lakshadweep administration to feel aggrieved that the filmmaker, in the course of a heated discussion on the policy changes sought to be brought about by the Administrator, accused the authorities of unleashing a “bio weapon” against the people by relaxing quarantine rules for those entering Lakshadweep. However, as the court has rightly pointed out, there is nothing in use of the term that tended to create disaffection against the government or incite the people against it. It ought to have been clear to everyone accept the administration, its police and the BJP functionary who complained against her speech that there was no malice or motive to subvert the government established by law. Of course, it is noteworthy that the police did not rush to arrest her, but only issued a notice to her to appear before the police to explain her remarks, indicating that there may not have been a threat of arrest. Yet, the very institution of the case is questionable. It is disconcerting that courts are repeatedly called upon to reiterate that strong speech or writing against government policy is not enough to book someone for sedition, and that only incitement to violence or an inclination to cause public disorder amounts to such an offence. The court considered the political context in which the vehement criticism of the administration has come about. There is much debate about the administrative changes introduced by the Administrator, Praful Khoda Patel, since he assumed office last December. The context, indeed, was the criticism of the modified operating procedure, under which the mandatory provision for quarantining visitors to Lakshadweep was given up. Many attribute the exponential rise in COVID19 cases to this modification. Another Bench of the High Court has stayed the administration’s order to close down dairy farms run by the Animal Husbandry Department and remove meat from the menu for school midday meals. When controversial orders are made, they do have a propensity to attract vehement protests and strident criticism. Unfortunately, the tendency to accuse critics and detractors of having a design to provoke disaffection against the government is spreading among authorities across the country. It is clear the problem lies in the continuance of questionable provisions such as the one on sedition on the statute book.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
Sedition (noun) – Excitement of discontent against the government
Synonyms – Treason, subversion, mutiny, treachery, defiance
Antonyms – Allegiance, fealty, subjection, adhesion, candor
Strident (adjective) – Being sharply insistent on being heard
Synonyms – Raucous, blatant, penetrating, cacophonous, sibilant
Antonyms – Mellifluous, hushed, murmured, subdued, benign
Discern (verb) – Detect with the senses
Synonyms – Espy, descry, fathom, decipher, scent
Antonyms – Butchers, conflate, gaze, misrecognize, contemplate
Imputations (noun) – A statement attributing something dishonest
Synonyms – Indictments, ascriptions, insinuations, deformities, taints
Antonyms – Certainty, fact, proof, truth
Aggrieved (adjective) – Upset or angry at being treated unfairly
Synonyms – Resentful, peeved, miffed, disgruntled, woeful
Antonyms – Triumphant, blithe, convivial, felicitous, debonair
Disaffection (noun) – Disloyalty to the government
Synonyms – Estrangement, rupture, schism, animosity, repugnance
Antonyms – Endearment, fealty, alchemy, aroha, benevolence
Incite (verb) – Give an incentive for action
Synonyms – Foment, impel, galvanize, exhort, ignite
Antonyms – Subdue, dissuade, abate, deaden, mollify
Malice (noun) – Feeling a need to see others suffer
Synonyms – Malevolence, acrimony, malignity, spleen, virulence
Antonyms – Adoration, indulgence, amicability, amorousness,
Subvert (verb) – Cause the downfall of
Synonyms – Pervert, sabotage, vitiate, profane, dethrone
Antonyms – Ameliorate, beget, consolidate, cherish, adorn
Reiterate (verb) – To repeat again and again
Synonyms – Recapitulate, rehearse, regurgitate, stress, echo
Antonyms – Elapse, disavow, refute, controverted, refutations
Vehement (adjective) – Acting with great force
Synonyms – Fervent, zealous, vigorous, frantic, impetuous
Antonyms – Apathetic, stoic, phlegmatic, stolid, callous
Propensity (noun) – A disposition to behave in a certain way
Synonyms – Proclivity, aptness, flair, relish, dispositions
Antonyms – Aversion, neutrality, disrelish, loathing, impotence
