Section 152

Section 152 is one of the most politically significant provisions in the BNS — it replaces the notorious sedition law (IPC Section 124A) with a narrower, constitutionally more defensible provision. The word 'sedition' does not appear anywhere in the BNS. This is a deliberate legislative choice. IPC 124A, drafted in 1870 during the colonial era to suppress the independence movement, made 'exciting disaffection against the Government established by law in British India' a criminal offence. It was used to prosecute Lokmanya Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi. In independent India, it was increasingly used to suppress dissent, journalism, and political opposition. The Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) upheld IPC 124A but narrowed it to incitement to violence — but courts and police routinely applied it beyond this limit. The Supreme Court in 2022 stayed all pending sedition prosecutions pending reconsideration. BNS 152 focuses on specific concrete harms: exciting or attempting to excite secession (advocacy for breaking away from India), armed rebellion (inciting armed uprising), subversive activities, or separatist activities — all tied to actual endangerment of India's sovereignty, unity, or integrity. Mere criticism of government policy, dissent, or passionate disagreement is not covered — only acts aimed at territorial disintegration or armed overthrow. This is a significant narrowing from IPC 124A, though critics argue the provision is still susceptible to overreach.