NEW DELHI, 11 May: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of India to keep application of sedition law in abeyance.
Journalists Union of Assam,an affiliate of IJU along with others challenged section 124(A) of the Indian Penal Code as the law is being extensively used against independent media by the authorities.
A special bench comprising Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli held that all pending cases, appeals and proceedings with respect to charges framed under Section 124 (A) should be kept in abeyance.
Geetartha Pathak, IJU president and former member of Press Council of India and IJU secretary general and vice president of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Sabina Inderjit said in a statement that the decision of the apex court will initiate a process to put an end to the century-old draconian law that has been used by the powers to muzzle the voice of dissent.
IJU hoped that the government of India will revisit and review the sedition law and scrap the draconian law enacted by the British to suppress the independence struggle against the colonial rulers.
IJU thanked the team of lawyers that pleaded the case in the SC on behalf of affiliate Journalists Union of Assam.
