Lahore: Remembers the days of colonial rule. This is the logic of the historic judgment of Lahore High Court of Pakistan. The court canceled section 124 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Article 124 is Pakistan’s sedition law (Pak Sedition Law). (Pakistan News) The court declared that section and the Sedition Act unconstitutional.
The case came up in the single bench of Justice Shahid Karim
The case was being heard in the Lahore High Court on Thursday. The case came up in the single bench of Justice Shahid Karim. It was he who declared the Sedition Act unconstitutional. Justice Karim said that Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan has given freedom of speech and expression to the citizens of the country. In that context, the section of sedition does not apply.
A person named Harun Farooq filed a petition in the Lahore High Court saying that the Pakistan government is arbitrarily misusing the sedition law to curtail freedom of speech and the right to express opinions freely. He also referred to Article 19 of the Constitution in his petition. He said that the Sedition Act was against the right to freedom of speech and expression. The Lahore High Court gave such a verdict in the hearing of that case.
Pakistan’s Sedition Act and Indian Sedition Act are equivalent to each other. According to that Article 124, if any person, by oral or written words or by signature, or by any other means conveys displeasure, anger or hatred towards the federal government, it can be punished with life imprisonment and also with a heavy fine.
Sedition laws of India and Pakistan are equivalent to each other
Sedition is also mentioned in Article 124-A in India. After the Supreme Court’s interim order last year, the law is temporarily inactive. The Narendra Modi government at the Center has been directed to thoroughly review the implementation of the law. Until that is done, the application of the clause has been ordered to be suspended till the apex court comes to a decision.