Constitutional validity of sedition law

Abstract

The repeal of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was widely celebrated as the end of a colonial-era restriction on speech. However, its functional replacement, Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, has revived the constitutional debate in a new form. Although the word ‘sedition’ has been deliberately excised from the text, the provision continues to criminalise vaguely defined categories of expression that endanger the ‘sovereignty, unity and integrity of India’. This essay critically examines whether Section 152 can withstand scrutiny under Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution. It traces the doctrinal journey from Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar through the 2022 abeyance order in S.G. Vombatkere and the pending constitutional challenge to Section 152, and evaluates the provision against the tests of vagueness, overbreadth, chilling effect and proportionality. It concludes that Section 152, in its present form, does not cure the constitutional infirmities of its predecessor and requires either judicial reading-down or legislative amendment.