Sedition Cases Have Doubled Since 2016, Most in Jharkhand: NCRB

The number of cases registered under the contentious UAPA and OSA have also shown a rise in 2018.

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As many as 70 sedition cases were registered in India in 2018, up from 51 in 2017 and 35 in 2016, recent data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed.

Among the states having the highest number of sedition cases, Jharkhand was at the forefront with 18, followed by Assam (17) and Jammu and Kashmir (12). Notably, the erstwhile state of J&K saw just one sedition case in 2017, reported The Indian Express.

As revealed in the report, sedition cases accounted for 50 percent of all cases under the category of 'offences against the state' in 2018. Meanwhile, the cases filed under other sections in the category have come down.

The number of cases registered under the contentious Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Official Secrets Act (OSA) have also seen a rise in 2018, according to NCRB data.

For UAPA, 1,182 offences were registered in 2018, up from 901 in 2017. In case of OSA, the rise was more than twofold – from 18 to 40.

The NCRB, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country.

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)