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Why in the News?
Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition challenging the changes made to the right to freedom of speech and expression by the first amendment to the Constitution.
Key Points:
What was the first amendment to the Constitution?
- SEBC: Empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.
- Anti-Zamindari laws: Provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.
- Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.
- Added three more grounds of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression:
- Public Order
- Friendly relations with foreign states
- Incitement to an offense
- Also, it made the restrictions ‘reasonable’ and thus, justiciable in nature.
- PSU/Nationalisation: Provided that state trading and nationalization of any trade or business by the state is not to be invalid on the ground of violation of the right to trade or business.
Challenges made by the petitioner: The petitioner challenged that the amendment protected the following sections of the Indian Penal Code from the vice of unconstitutionality:
- First:
- Sections 124A (sedition)
- Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc)
- Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and
- Section 505 (statements conducing to public mischief)
- Secondly, the amendment neglects national security by dropping the expression ‘tends to overthrow the State’.
The constitutional Status:
- Article 19(1)(a): It guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.
- But this freedom is not absolute, It is followed by Article 19(2), which lists exceptions or “reasonable restrictions” on that right.
