New Delhi, February 27 The Supreme Court on Friday said that Parliament has the "absolute right" to enact a law, and it is not bound by any undertaking that may have been given by the Centre to the court.
These observations came from a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which was hearing petitions challenging the validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Section 152 of the BNS deals with acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
One of the lawyers representing the petitioners said that Section 152 effectively reintroduces Section 124A (sedition) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.
In May 2022, a three-judge bench of the apex court had put on hold the colonial-era sedition law until a "suitable" government forum re-examined it and directed the Centre and states not to register any fresh FIR invoking the offence.
On Friday, the lawyer stated that in 2022, the Centre had given an undertaking to the top court that they would review the sedition law.
The counsel argued that the government cannot reintroduce the provision in the BNS after giving an undertaking to the court.
"The Union of India may have given an undertaking to the court, but Parliament is not bound by it," the bench said, adding, "Parliament has the absolute right to enact a law."
The counsel then referred to Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and said that it violates the apex court's Lalita Kumari judgment, which mandates the registration of an FIR if the information discloses the commission of an offence.
The lawyer argued that Section 173 allows the police to conduct a preliminary inquiry to ascertain whether there is a prima facie case for proceeding in a matter.
Observing that the Lalita Kumari verdict has been misused a lot, the bench said, "Sometimes, judgments are delivered from ivory towers."
The bench also said that the Lalita Kumari judgment also says that a preliminary inquiry may be conducted to ascertain whether a cognizable offence is disclosed or not.
The matter has been posted for hearing after the Holi vacations.
Last year, the apex court had issued a notice to the Centre on a separate PIL challenging the validity of Section 152 of the BNS.