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HC dismisses plea seeking repeal of BNS sections
A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Anish Dayal said that issuing such a direction would amount to legislating, which was not in its realm.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking direction to the Parliament to abolish sections dealing with the offences against the state and public tranquillity from the new penal law, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), saying that it lacked the jurisdiction to issue such a directive.
Sections 147 to 158 deal with the offences against the state and includes offences such as waging war or attempting and abetting to wage war against the government of India, committing acts endangering country’s sovereignty, unity and integrity, assaulting President, Governor, to compel or restrain exercise of any lawful power. The new law, which had replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) came into effect on July 1, last year.
Sections 189 to 197 deal with the offences against public tranquillity and includes offences of unlawful assembly, rioting, affray, wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot.
A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Anish Dayal said that issuing such a direction would amount to legislating, which was not in its realm.
The judges said that such an abolition could only take place by way of enactment of an act amending the BNS.
“Abolition is only permissible by enacting an amendment act. It’s an act of the Parliament. We cannot direct the Parliament to do so, it will amount to legislating. It’s not under our realm. These sections may do anything but we cant issue with the parliament to come forth with the amending act,” the bench said to the counsel representing the petitioner Upendra Nath Dalai, a native of Odisha.
Dismissing the petition, the bench in its order said, “If we peruse the prayers what we find is that the petitioner is asking to give direction to the Parliament to legislate an amending act. The prayers made in this PIL cannot be granted by the court by exercising its jurisdiction. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed.”
Dalai’s petition painted a picture that the provisions grant the government right to suppress the voice of citizens and are thus violative of the fundamental right to quality, life and personal liberty and acts a “key tool for opposition free governance.” It went on to add that the same also undermines the basic structure of the Constitution and also creates an arbitrary attitude in the government officials.
“Chapter VII of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure, headed Offences against the State and Chapter XI of the Indian Constitution, headed Offences against the Public Tranquillity, are both illogical and unconstitutional in a democratic country,” the plea stated.
To be sure, the high court in May had earlier rapped Dalai for filing another petition alleging that the BNS is a criminal act. “What kind of language is used? What is the prayer? There has to be some limit of frivolity,” the bench had remarked.
