NCP president Sharad Pawar filed an additional affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission to suggest “legal reforms” that include “repeal” of Section 124A of Indian Penal Code (offence of sedition) and reintroduction of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act to ensure law enforcement agencies can maintain law and order and prevent riots.
Pawar said Section 124A is “often misused against people who criticise the government, suppressing their liberty, and tends to stifle any voice of dissent raised in a peaceful and democratic way” and “should be repealed.”
The commission, comprising retired Chief Justice J N Patel and Sumit Mullick, summoned Pawar to appear before it on May 5-6 in Mumbai, where the commission’s counsel Ashish Satpute would examine him. Pawar filed the additional affidavit on April 11 to “suggest certain reforms to the Criminal Procedure Code and IPC.”
Pawar reiterated that he has “no personal knowledge or information about the sequence of events leading to the unfortunate incident at Koregaon Bhima (Pune district) on January 1, 2018.” His first affidavit was filed last September.
He also said he was making “no allegation” against any “political agenda or motive behind such an incident”.
