Suppression To Expression: Sedition Laws And Free Speech In India, The UK, And The US
- IJLLR Journal
- 10 hours ago
- 1 min read
Shruti Bose, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Lavasa
Ms. Anugraha, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Lavasa
ABSTRACT
This research paper offers a comparative analysis of sedition laws in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, focusing on how each legal system negotiates the tension between state authority and individual freedoms. While the UK and India inherited sedition laws from a colonial legacy prioritizing governmental control, their trajectories have sharply diverged—Britain abolished sedition in 2009, whereas India continues to retain and apply Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, often to suppress dissent. The United States, rooted in republican constitutional values, provides the strongest legal protections for free speech under the First Amendment, limiting the use of sedition statutes through stringent judicial standards like the “imminent lawless action” test. This paper examines the historical development, judicial interpretation, and current application of sedition laws in all three jurisdictions, highlighting their alignment (or lack thereof) with international human rights norms. It concludes that while the UK and US have evolved toward narrower, rights-respecting frameworks, India must urgently reconsider its approach to sedition to protect democratic discourse and civil liberties.
