India puts hold on harsh sedition law used to stifle critics

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has put the country’s colonial-era sedition law on hold. Critics say the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was increasingly using it to silence criticism and dissent. The Supreme Court order on Wednesday asked the Indian government and state authorities to refrain from registering fresh cases under the harsh law while it was under review. It also allowed accused people detained under the law to seek bail from courts. India’s sedition law, like its equivalent in other former British-ruled countries, offers a legal framework to categorize a citizen as a threat to the state. Globally, it is increasingly viewed as a draconian law and was revoked in the United Kingdom in 2010.