23.7% increase in preventive detentions
There is an increase of 23.7% in preventive detentions as compared to the previous year.
Recently the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released the ‘Crime Report 2021 in India’. According to the report more than 1.1 lakh people were kept under preventive detention. This number is the highest since 2017.
Most of the sedition cases were registered in Assam during the year 2014-2021. After this, the maximum number of such cases was reported in Haryana.
Sedition is defined in Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Preventive detention refers to the detention of a person on the suspicion that that person has committed some wrongful act which is against the state (government).
Constitutional provisions relating to preventive detention –
- Under punitive detention, the person detained by the officer has to be produced before a magistrate within 24
- In contrast, there is no such obligation in the case of preventive detention. According to Article 22(6) of the Constitution, it is not mandatory for a person detained under preventive detention to give reasons for his detention, if such disclosure is against the public interest.
- The period of preventive detention may extend beyond 3 months only on the advice of an advisory board. This board consists of persons who are or have been judges of the High Court or are eligible to be appointed to this post.
The following types of offenses have been defined as sedition under the IPC:
- Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in, shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
- They generate disaffection towards the government or try to do so.
- In Kedar Nath v State of Bihar, 1962, the Supreme Court held that a citizen has the right to criticize or comment on what he thinks about the government or the steps taken by it.
- However, it is valid as long as his criticism or remarks do not incite people to violence.
Source – The Hindu
