Report No. 43
3.6. Treason against a State unit of a Federation etc.-
The subject of treasonable acts against a State which forms part of a Federation is an interesting one, and we went into the question how far our law covers such acts. There was in fact, a suggestion that section 121, Indian Penal Code, should make punishable the waging of war not only against the Government of India but also against a State Government.
We looked into the position in other federal countries in this respect. The Argentinian Penal Code provides1 that "anybody who, without rebelling against the national government, arms one province against another, or takes arms in order to change a local constitution, or to overthrow any provincial or federal territorial government or sub-division thereof, or to force out of any such government or sub-division thereof any measure or concession, or to prevent, although temporarily, the free exercise of its legal functions, or the formation or renewal in the time and ways established by law, shall be punished by jailing from one to three years". The matter has received some attention in the United States also.
We are not convinced, however, that the present law suffers from any deficiency from the practical point of view. Conspiracy to overawe a State Government or Legislature and exciting disaffection against a State Government or Legislature are proposed to be severely penalised.2 Even if the violent action goes beyond the stage of conspiracy, the maximum punishment provided for conspiracy will suffice for the completed offence. We, therefore, do not recommend any additional provision on the subject.
1. Section 229. This is contained in Title 10, Crimes against the Government and the Constitutional Order, Chapter 2, Sedition. The preceding title-Title 9-deals with crimes against the security of the Nation.
2. See Clauses 6 and 39 of the proposed National Security Bill.
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