India filed 76 sedition cases last year

Andhra Pradesh registered the highest – 29 of the total 76 – sedition cases filed under IPC section 124A last year, according to the latest NCRB data.

The surge in Andhra Pradesh is in sharp contrast to 2020 when no sedition case was recorded in the state. According to the report, Crime in India, the country’s tally of 76 has also seen a surge as compared to the 73 cases filed in 2020. Meanwhile, there was a dip in the total number of offences against the state – 149 as compared to the 172 in 2020 – under various special and local laws and IPC provisions.

Newslaundry had earlier explained why India still has a sedition law. Here is a graphic summing up what the law signifies.

According to the report, 86 people were arrested for alleged sedition across India last year while there were 1,604 arrests under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Sixty six persons were chargesheeted for sedition and 1,317 under UAPA last year while there was no conviction in sedition cases and 62 in those linked to UAPA, according to the report.

In 2020, 796 cases were reported under UAPA. The same year, 15 of the 73 sedition cases were reported in Manipur, followed by Assam (12), Karnataka (8), and Uttar Pradesh (7).

According to the report, 4,958 offences against the state were reported across the country under various special and local laws, or SSL. Of 4,958 cases of offences under SLL, 4,089 were reported under Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 814 under UAPA, and 55 under Official Secrets Act.

The report noted, “A total of 9,52,273 cognizable crimes comprising 6,30,937 IPC crimes and 3,21,336 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes were registered in 19 metropolitan cities during 2021, showing an increase of 3.1 percent over 2020 (9,24,016 cases)...during 2021, IPC crimes registered have declined by 5.6 percent and SLL crimes registered have increased by 25.5 percent over 2020.”

The percentage share of IPC was 66.3, and that of SLL cases 33.7 percent in 2021, it said.