What do cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, PUCL activist Dr Binayak Sen, author Arundhati Roy and student activist from Kerala Salman have in common? They have all been at the receiving end of India’s sedition law.
Joining this list is India’s Finance Minister and senior lawyer Arun Jaitley.
Jaitley’s blog on a Supreme Court Constitution bench’s judgment making the National Judicial Appointments Commission null and void has a civil judge seething with anger.
Ankit Goel, the civil judge of Mahoba in Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh has taken suo motu cognizance of the cabinet minister’s criticism of the recent NJAC judgement and has slapped sedition charges on the minister reports TOI.
In his personal blog, Jaitley had written that 'Indian democracy cannot be a tyranny of the unelected' prima facie.
“The Indian democracy cannot be a tyranny of the unelected and if the elected are undermined, democracy itself would be in danger. Are not institutions like the Election Commission and the CAG not credible enough even though they are appointed by elected governments?
As someone who has spent more years in court than in Parliament, I feel constrained to speak out for Indian democracy. There is no principle in democracy anywhere in the world that institutions of democracy are to be saved from the elected.”
Earlier on October 16, the Supreme Court had struck down the current government’s proposal of appointing judges in a more transparent manner.
Jaitley in his blog had commented that most of the arguments made by the top court are of ‘erroneous logic’. He went on to say that the judgment ignored the ‘larger constitutional structure’ of India. He argued that the independence of the judiciary does not outweigh the other basic structures of the Indian constitution which involves the role of the elected government and the opposition.
The court has slapped Sections 124A and 505 of IPC for sedition and public nuisance respectively.
The court said Section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code was entitled to take cognizance of statements published in numerous newspapers.
The judge had earlier made news by summoning former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav after he allegedly commented that allegations of gang rape are often fabricated earlier this year.
Jaitley has been asked to be present before the court on November 19.