INDIA's Supreme Court on Wednesday (11) suspended a colonial-era sedition law that activists say is often used by prime minister Narendra Modi's government to target free speech and dissent.
Modi's critics say that the law, which was once used by Britain to target independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, has been abused by his government against many journalists, activists and students.
Section 124A of the Indian penal code gives wide-ranging powers to the police to arrest people, who can even face life imprisonment, for an act or speech that "brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government".
"The rigours of Section 124A (are) not in tune with the current social milieu, and was intended for a time when this country was under the colonial regime," India's chief justice N V Ramana, part of a three-judge bench hearing a petition against the law, said.
Ramana asked the government not to file any new sedition cases and pause ongoing sedition investigations.
"All pending trials, appeals and proceedings" under sedition, the court said, "be kept in abeyance" until the "re-examination of the provision is complete".
FILE PHOTO: Indian journalists shout slogans during a protest to condemn an assault on fellow media workers by lawyers at a court in New Delhi earlier this week, in Mumbai on February 17, 2016. (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
The government had said Monday (9) that it had decided to "re-examine and reconsider" the law but it remained in force.
The top court also urged people jailed for sedition to approach local courts for bail.
India's official crime data says 236 people faced sedition charges between 2018 and 2020.
The law has long been misused by all Indian political parties in power but critics say Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has widened its scope, including to target minorities and ideological dissenters.
The government of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, led by firebrand monk Yogi Adityanath from the BJP, has been an especially enthusiastic user of the law.
Police there last year jailed three students from Indian-administered Kashmir for sedition after they celebrated India's defeat to arch-rival Pakistan in a cricket match.
India sparked global outrage last year after 22-year-old climate change activist Disha Ravi was arrested for sedition for allegedly creating a "toolkit" to aid anti-government farmer protests.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)