233 People Slapped With Sedition Charges In Last 5 Years: Govt

At least 233 people were slapped with the charge of sedition for their alleged anti-national activities in the last five years, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

The highest number of cases -- 37 each -- were registered in Assam and Jharkhand.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the charge of sedition under section 124A of the IPC was slapped against 70 people in 2018, 51 people in 2017, 35 in 2016, 30 in 2015 and 47 in 2014.

Reddy said while replying to a written question, that 37 people in Assam and Jharkhand each were slapped with sedition charge between 2014 and 2018.

A total of 29 people were slapped with sedition charge in Haryana during the said period, he said.

Most recently, a sedition case was registered against a Karnataka school for allegedly allowing students to stage a drama, portraying Prime Minister Narendra Modi in poor light in connection with the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

The management of Shaheen School was also booked for "promoting enmity between different groups" under Sections 124(A) and 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code.

Police said the case was registered on a complaint from social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on 26 January. The complainant alleged that that the school authorities 'used' the students to perform a drama on 21 January, where they "abused" Modi for introducing the CAA and NRC.

Besides this school, Sharjeel Imam, a student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was booked in a sedition case following his alleged inflammatory" speeches delivered during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The PhD student at the JNU's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked in sedition cases lodged across several states.