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Expressing views different from government’s opinion not seditious: Supreme Court


Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 03, 2021:     The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that expression of views different from the opinion of the government cannot be termed seditious while dismissing a petition filed against former J&K chief Farooq Abdullah over his remarks on scrapping of Article 370.

 

Supreme Court


"Expression of views which are dissent and different from government opinion cannot be termed as seditious," a bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

The court dismissed the PIL filed against the National Conference leader and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner after he failed to substantiate his allegation that Abdullah sought help of China and Pakistan to criticise India over the issue of Article 370.

Speaking exclusively to India Today TV, Farooq Abdullah had last year said China "never accepted" the abrogation of Article 370, and he hoped that it would be restored with their support.

"Whatever they are doing at LAC in Ladakh all because of the abrogation of Article 370, which they never accepted. I am hopeful that with their support, Article 370 will be restored in J&K," the former J&K CM had said.

The Centre had scrapped the special status granted to J&K under Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and divided into the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - with effect from October 31, 2019.

After the abrogation, top Jammu and Kashmir leaders, including Farooq Abdullah, his son and former CM Omar Abdullah and PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti were put under house arrest. They have been released since.

Last month, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea urging it to reexamine the constitutional validity of Section 124A of IPC, which deals with sedition. The petitioners had said the validity of the section "requires reconsideration, especially in the light of spate of sedition charges imposed against various persons speaking out against the governments of the day and their policies".