Acts Endangering the Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Repealed Offence of Sedition

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which came into force on 1 July 2024, replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and, with it, the colonial offence of sedition in Section 124A. In its place Section 152 punishes acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Although the change was presented as a clean break with the colonial past, critics describe the new provision as sedition under a different name. This paper uses the doctrinal method to compare the two provisions on the interest protected, the conduct targeted, the mental element, the permitted modes of commission, the statutory safeguard for criticism, the punishment and the procedure. It reviews the judicial treatment of Section 124A, particularly the Constitution Bench decision in Kedar Nath Singh, and tests Section 152 against Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(2) of the Constitution. The paper concludes that Section 152 moves the object of protection from the Government to the State and its territorial unity and adds an express mental element, but retains open-ended expressions such as “subversive activities” and “separatist activities” that may chill legitimate dissent unless they are defined or read down by the courts.