High Court issues notice to Centre, Arundhati Roy

On a petition seeking directions to prosecute her for seditious actions

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the Union government and the Delhi government on a petition by a public interest litigant seeking directions to the governments to prosecute writer Arundhati Roy for her alleged seditious actions.


The petitioner, Salekchand Jain, through his lawyer, Sugrive Dubey, urged the Court to direct the governments to prosecute Ms. Roy under the Prohibition of Seditious Meeting Act, 1911, and Sections 121 (waging and attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the government of India) and other Sections of the India Penal Code (IPC).

Mr. Jain alleged that the writer had committed a crime under the Act and the IPC by her remarks on Kashmir at a seminar here in the Capital last month.

“Under the Act, there is a prohibition on organising a seditious meeting, and by organising one along with separatist leaders, she had violated it,” the petitioner said.

He further submitted that since the Union government had decided not to take any action against her, it was the duty of the judiciary to step forward and rein in such people for making seditious statements.

Kashmiri separatist leaders had been organising such meetings in the Valley for long and talking against the integrity of the country. It seemed the government had decided to look the other way, the petitioner submitted.

Taking the petition on record, Justice Hima Kohli directed the respondents to file replies to the petition by January 23, 2011.