NEW DELHI — A former Supreme Court judge has said that celebrating a Pakistani cricket win over India is by no means sedition and it’s ridiculous to think it is.
Justice Deepak Gupta said the tweet from the Office of the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh stating that the Kashmiri students in Agra who celebrated the Pakistan World Cup victory over India would be accused of sedition is a tweet that violates the law of the country is. More importantly, he added, the tweet is not a responsible statement, it is an irresponsible statement.
In an 18 minute interview with Karan Thapar for: The WireJustice Gupta went on to say that celebrating a Pakistani victory over India may be offensive or unwise, but it is not a crime, it is not illegal. As he explained, something can be good or bad, but that doesn’t make it a crime or illegal.
He added: All legal actions are not necessarily good or moral and then pointed out that we are governed by a rule of law and not by a moral rule.
In The Wire In the interview, Judge Gupta also made it clear that none of the other three charges against the Kashmiri students in Agra apply. They have also been charged with Section 153A, promoting religious enmity, Section 505(1)(b), making statements that may incite others to commit an offense against the state or public peace, and Section 66F of the IT law which is a punishment for cyber terrorism.
Speaking in detail about the sedition charge, Judge Gupta said that if the Chief Minister or his office had gone through the previous Supreme Court rulings on sedition, they would have known that what the Kashmiri students were doing in Agra was absolutely not sedition. Therefore, the tweet from the Chief Ministers’ office stating that these students will be charged with sedition is based on ignorance of the law.
Justice Gupta said: Sedition has no place in a civilized democracy. He said his preference, which he also expressed in an interview, to: The wire In March 2021, the incitement law will be abolished with immediate effect. However, if it doesn’t, he added: The time has come for the Supreme Court to step in and determine in no uncertain terms whether the law is valid or not and whether the law is valid to specify what the law is. restrictions and which guidelines should be followed.
Judge Gupta added that he hopes the Supreme Court will do this as soon as possible. He also said: I expect the Court to do this as soon as possible.
Speaking about each of the other three charges facing the Kashmiri students in Agra, Justice Gupta explained why they are not filing. First, with regard to Section 153A, which deals with promoting enmity on the grounds of religion, he said: How does it promote (their alleged celebration) enmity? … Just because they belong to a certain religion? Have they said anything to Hinduism?
In response to the fact that the Agra students are also being charged under Section 505(1)(b), which deals with making statements that may incite others to commit an offense against the state or public peace, it said Judge Gupta: They were celebrating not inciting anyone to commit a crime. He added that if anyone is provoked, it is that person’s responsibility and cannot be blamed on the students.
Finally, referring to the third indictment facing the Agra students, Section 66F of the IT Act, which is punishment for cyber terrorism, Judge Gupta said: How does cyber terrorism get in there? He pointed out that the students were celebrating. They did not tweet or use social media. Judge Gupta even pointed out that university authorities have said no slogans were raised at all.
It is important to note that Justice Gupta spoke specifically about the Kashmiri students in Agra whom the UP Chief Ministers’ office tweeted about. He made it clear that he was not talking about celebrations of Pakistan’s victory that may have happened in Jammu and Kashmir. — (The Wire)