LHC refers anti-sedition plea to Justice Karim

Petitioner says sedition law is a British-era relic used for political interests

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday referred a petition seeking to declare the sedition law null and void to Justice Shahid Karim, saying that he was hearing a similar case.

Justice Shujaat Ali Khan heard the request of a local lawyer, Shahid Rana, who took the position that the sedition law was a relic of British colonialism, which was used to enslave the people.

The petitioner submitted that sections 124-A, 153-A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) were inconsistent with the fundamental rights as citizens were being exploited through the said law for political interests.

He stated that the Indian Supreme Court had also stopped the implementation of the sedition law, calling it a product of the British era, while also staying sedition cases and trials by granting interim relief.

Under the Constitution of Pakistan, citizens could not be subjected to state oppression by depriving them of their fundamental rights, the petitioner submitted, asking the court to annul the British-era sedition law as it was unconstitutional.