Facts:

Two journalists were charged with sedition claiming these incited a feeling of hatred towards the government. Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha, (from Manipur) had three FIRs filed against him under Section 124A for comments and posts made on Facebook. These comments and posts criticised the Government of Manipur for its management of a crisis at the Manipur University.  Kanhaiya Lal Shukla(from Chattisgarh), posted cartoons on Facebook that depicted fake encounters by the police. On 16th July, 2021, a 3-judge Bench consisting CJI Ramana, Justice Bopanna and Justice Roy, included three other petitions filed by retired Major General S.G. Vombatkere, Aamoda Broadcasting Company Pvt. Ltd., and Editors Guild of India, respectively, to be heard along with Kishorechandra Wangkhemkcha’s. The petitioners filed a writ petition challenging the validity of Section 124A IPC, that criminalises and provides punishment for sedition. These petitions contended that Section 124A infringes upon an individual’s right to freedom of speech and expression (guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, 1950). They also state that Section 124A does not impose a reasonable restrictions, therefore, it does not fall under the restrictions to the freedom of speech and expression allowed under Article 19(2).

The Court held:

“it is clear that the Union of India agrees with the prima facie opinion expressed by this Court that the rigors of Section 124A of IPC is not in tune with the current social milieu, and was intended for a time when this country was under the colonial regime. In light of the same, the Union of India may reconsider the aforesaid provision of law”. “ This Court is cognizant of security interests and integrity of the State on one hand, and the civil liberties of citizens on the other. There is a requirement to balance both sets of considerations, which is a difficult exercise. The case of the petitioners is that this provision of law dates back to 1898, and pre-dates the Constitution itself, and is being misused”. Concluding, the court granted interim stay in the writ petition until further orders and directed the state and central government to ” restrain from registering any FIR, continuing any investigation or taking any coercive measures by invoking Section 124A of IPC while the aforesaid provision of law is under consideration”. If in any situation a new case is registered under section 124A, the affected parties may approach the court for relief from the same and that “All pending trials, appeals and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124A of IPC be kept in abeyance”.