Islamabad High Court rejects PTI's plea for annulment of sedition law

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) plea seeking the declaration of sedition law as illegal.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) plea seeking the declaration of sedition law as illegal. PTI Senior Vice President Shireen Mazari had filed a plea requesting the court to declare sedition laws illegal, however, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah dismissed the petition today for being non-maintainable, reported Geo News.

Mazari had moved IHC to declare Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) illegal and said that the law violated Constitution's articles 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 19A. She also said that the UK, which originally brought the law, has repealed it. The petitioner had also noted that several countries -- USA, New Zealand, Australia, Ghana, South Korea, Indonesia, Scotland, and Singapore -- have repealed the sedition laws, reported Geo News.

"Section 124-A of Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 may very graciously be declared as ultra-vires in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 being inconsistent with and in derogation of fundamental rights provided under Article 9, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19, 19A of the Constitution," the petition read. The senior PTI leader had filed the petition after her party colleague, Shahbaz Gill, was charged under the law in Islamabad and kept behind bars for over a month, reported Geo News.

The PTI leader had contended that Section 124-A of the Sedition Act was being used to suppress freedom of expression, and it was inconsistent with the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. The petition had said that sedition cases were resorted to suppress criticism and expression. In the petition, it was requested that Article 124-A of sedition be declared illegal, reported Geo News.

Mazari had also requested the IHC that the registration of sedition cases may be stopped and an injunction may be issued in this regard. "In the interim and during the pendency of the instant petition, the respondents (Government of Pakistan) may kindly be restrained from registering any FIRs, or undertaking any coercive measure in Sedition Cases under Section 124-A," the petition had stated. (ANI)

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