Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belief that the nation should not suffer the “colonial baggage” of “outdated laws” during ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ mirrors oral remarks made by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on sedition in July 2021.
The CJI, in an unprecedented judicial criticism of the government’s abuse of the sedition provision in the Indian Penal Code, had questioned the government’s reliance on a colonial law, which was once used by the British against Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, even 75 years after Independence.
“Is this law necessary after 75 years of Independence?” Chief Justice Ramana had asked the Centre in open court in July 2021.
