Supreme Court puts the sedition law on hold, no new FIRs to be lodged

On January 4, the Supreme Court had said that further orders in the matter would be passed on January 10 by “the appropriate bench, as may be constituted”. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

The provisions of Section 124A of the IPC criminalises the offence of sedition. 

The apex court has fixed the third week of July for hearing pleas challenging the validity of the provision; by then, the Centre would have the time to undertake the exercise to re-examine the provision.

On Tuesday, the bench had asked the Centre make its stand clear within 24 hours on keeping the pending sedition cases in abeyance to protect the interests of citizens already booked and not registering fresh cases till the government's re-examination of the colonial-era penal law is over.