Penal Code

Speech offenses and criminal defamation.

Freedom of expressionHigh risk

Civic participation & democratic processMedium risk

Privacy & data protectionNo risk

How it affects you.

You criticize public policy or encourage political participation online.

The speech offenses cover sedition, religious feelings, public order and related expression. The law also criminalizes inducing, or attempting to induce, students into political activities that may disturb public order.§§124A, 153B

What it protects

Criticizing government measures or actions is not sedition, so long as it does not stir up hatred, contempt or disaffection.§124A
Students themselves are not barred from political activity or discourse.§153B

Where it falls short

Broad terms make the boundary between lawful discussion and criminal conduct difficult to predict.
These exceptions do not remove the threat of criminal proceedings, nor do they bar civil lawsuits.

Someone alleges that your statement harms their reputation.

Criminal defamation carries up to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.§§499, 500

What it protects

Criminal defamation carries ten exceptions, including truth for the public good and comment on public servants.§499

Where it falls short

Those exceptions do not remove the threat of criminal proceedings.
Their interpretation varies, which leaves people discussing matters of public interest uncertain.

You run a promotion, giveaway or discount.

Offering a prize or reward to promote a business or to get people to buy something is an offense, with up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of an unspecified amount.§294B

Where it falls short

Its wording could reach discount codes, cashback, loyalty programs, in-game rewards and other offers that are part of modern commercial practices.
That creates uncertainty for ordinary businesses.

The law

What the law says.

What it criminalizes: Sedition^{§§123A, 124A}
Enmity between classes^{§§153A, 505(c), 505(d)}
Wounding religious feelings^{§§295A, 298}
Offenses against the state and public order^{§§505(b), 505A}
Inducing students into politics^§153B
Criminal defamation^{§§499, 500}
Insulting a woman’s “modesty”^§509
Offering prizes to promote sales^§294B
What it exposes you to: Up to life imprisonmentThe most severe listed speech offenses
Up to 2 years and/or a fineCriminal defamation^§500
A mere attempt or likelihood can be enough
What protects you: Ten exceptions to defamation, including truth for the public good^§499
Criticizing government measures is not sedition^§124A
Students themselves are not barred from politics^§153B
Where it comes from: The colonial code of 1860
Indian Penal Code Amendment Act, 1898
Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1950
Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1965^§294B
Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1991^§505A

The colonial speech offenses still in force

The law criminalizes sedition, promoting enmity between classes, wounding religious feelings, offenses against the state and public order, and inducing students into politics.

Analysis

Where the framework falls short.

Colonial-era speech crimes now used against online expression; overbroad, vague, disproportionate

Undefined

Offenses built on undefined words

Words such as “enmity,” “hatred” and “wounding” religious feelings carry no statutory definition, and “disaffection” is explained only as including “disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.”

Too wide

A low threshold, a severe ceiling

A mere attempt or likelihood can amount to an offense, with penalties up to life imprisonment.

Undefined

A standard built on “modesty”

§509

“Modesty” and “insult” are undefined and rooted in a colonial-era idea of morality, which invites subjective enforcement and fits contemporary harassment poorly.

Too wide

Everyday promotions within reach

§294B

In practice it could reach discount codes, cashback offers, loyalty programs, in-game rewards and virtual currencies, now ordinary parts of digital business.

Recommendation

Repeal speech offenses.

Targeted laws for specific harms

The listed speech offenses should be repealed and replaced with targeted, rights-respecting laws for specific harms.

Replace criminal defamation with civil remedies

Defamation should be decriminalized and replaced with civil remedies.

How others do it

Sedition and incitement elsewhere

Referenced to show different approaches, not as models for adoption.

United Kingdom

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Abolished sedition and seditious libel in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland.

Read the text

New Zealand and Singapore

Crimes (Repeal of Seditious Offences) Amendment Act 2007 · Sedition (Repeal) Act 2021

Repealed sedition and moved to laws aimed at specific harms such as terrorism or hate speech.

Read the text

Ireland, Denmark, Iceland and Canada

Repeal of blasphemy offenses

Removed blasphemy offenses as incompatible with freedom of expression in pluralistic societies.

United Kingdom Public Order Act 1986: four checks before an incitement prosecution

ThresholdConduct must be threatening, abusive or insulting, and intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.
BalancingThe prosecutor weighs free expression against public safety, preventing disorder and crime, and others’ rights.
ReferralThe allegation goes to the Special Crime & Counter Terrorism Division.
ConsentProsecution proceeds only with the Attorney General’s consent.