Following the statement of the students’ union, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Teachers’ Association (TISSTA), Mumbai, released a statement on Saturday condemning the sedition charge against the student Urvashi (Kris) Chudawala.
Members of TISSTA attributed the sedition charge as an outdated colonial law condemning its use as a political tool to suppress peaceful protests, which is neither justifiable nor legally tenable.
The statement read, “The revelation of the identity of a young trans student who is only exercising their democratic right to protest amounts to harassment and is tantamount to a hate crime.
Kris has been maliciously projected as a being a traitor to the nation firstly by politically motivated individuals on social media and then amplified by some sections of the mainstream media. The judgement of the Supreme Court (SC) has held that mere raising of slogans does not constitute sedition unless there is an implicit threat of violence.”