Question

What do you understand by the sedition act of 1870?
A) A person could be arrested and deported
B) That any person criticizing and protesting the British government could be arrested without a trial.
C) The arrested person could not engage an advocate
D) An arrested person could be detained in police custody for an indefinite period.

Answer 1

Hint: On the 3rd of February 2021, a Supreme Court bench dismissed a plea seeking action against Farooq Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, for his views on the repeal of Article 370 and the division of J&K into two union territories. It is not seditious to hold opposing opinions to those held by the government, according to the Supreme Court.

Complete answer:
- The Sedition Act authorized the government to arrest or jail anyone observed protesting or criticizing British authority without a fair trial in court. This was an example of the British abusing their power by allowing them to arrest people without cause if they were suspected of inciting a rebellion.
- People were detained without being informed of the grounds for their arrest and were held in jails without a trial under this act.
- The Republican minority in Congress claimed that the Sedition Act violated the Constitution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Both claimed that the federal government lacked the right to create laws that were not explicitly stated in the constitution. Because he believed the Constitution was not meant to limit the people.
- Hamilton opposed the addition of a Bill of Rights. It enumerated the government's authorities and left the rest to the states and the people. The British colonial authority was established.
- Sec 124-A in 1870 to deal with sedition. It states that sedition is defined as inciting hatred or contempt for the Indian government as established by law. In this situation, the penalty might be life in jail plus a fine, or three years in prison plus a fine.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: All people are equal in front of the law, according to the rule of law. Any crime or violation of the law has a specific punishment as well as a procedure for determining the person's guilt. Discrimination was to be made between Britishers and Indians in the case of the Sedition Act. There was no specified punishment for a crime or a violation of the law, and no process by which the person's guilt had to be demonstrated. British police officers had the authority to determine whether or not a person had committed a crime and to punish them as they saw fit.