The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Madhya Pradesh government on a plea filed by former Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) chief Safdar Nagori, who has questioned the impact of the apex court’s 2022 order staying sedition proceedings on the hearing of his criminal appeal.
Nagori, currently serving a life sentence awarded by a Madhya Pradesh district court in 2017 for allegedly possessing weapons, explosives, and plotting anti-national activities, approached the top court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court deferred final judgment in his appeal citing the Supreme Court’s May 2022 interim order staying proceedings under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.
The high court had nearly concluded hearings in Nagori’s appeal but halted further action, citing a lack of clarity on whether the stay on sedition law applies to his case, which includes sedition among other charges.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government and posted the matter for hearing in the second week of July.
“The counsel for the petitioner submits that the case in appeal against his client has virtually concluded. Before passing the final order, the High Court judge seeks clarification with regard to operation of para 8(d) of the order of this court dated May 11, 2022. Issue notice,” the bench stated.
The case against Nagori stems from a March 2008 arrest by the state’s Special Task Force, which alleged that he and 11 others were part of a larger conspiracy involving terror-related activities. In 2017, all accused were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 order had stayed the use of the sedition provision (Section 124A IPC) across the country and directed all pending sedition trials, appeals, and proceedings to be kept in abeyance until the constitutionality of the colonial-era law is determined.
