Just as India labours under outdated economic policies, it is also subjected to an archaic penal code. President Pranab Mukherjee chose the occasion of the 155th anniversary of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to stress that the code has undergone very few changes since its inception during the British Raj’s heyday. The code, therefore, can hardly reflect 21st century reality. Prime Minister NarendraModi, too, has declared himself in favour of scrapping archaic laws. But he overlooks the two elephants in the room, now stirring up enormous controversy: Section 124A of IPC under which JNU students have been jailed for sedition, and Section 377 criminalising homosexuality.

Apart from militating against the right to privacy and dignity, Section 377 is completely out of sync with present society. Although the provision has now been referred to a five-judge constitutional bench of the apex court, it should have been expunged by government a long time ago. As for 124A, it should be replaced by a version of the private member’s bill that was moved by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, which will implicate an individual for sedition only when it directly results in violence against the state.

Else chances of misuse of the draconian 124A for harassing political dissenters are extremely high, as has happened in a host of recent cases. In case of the JNU students, former navy chief Admiral Ramdas has said it looks ridiculous to book random students for sedition. Diverting scarce police resources to students – the bumbling Delhi police commissioner B S Bassi has even tranferred the JNU case to the special cell which deals with anti-terror cases – increases the probability of a real terror strike coming through. Political witch hunts and hysteria about “anti-nationals” diminish rather than increase our security. That’s another good reason 124A must be scrapped.