The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to a Constitution bench of at least five judges a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the colonial-era provision of sedition under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud declined the request of the Centre to defer the reference to a larger bench as Parliament is in the process of re-enacting the provisions of the penal code. The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, directed the apex court registry to place the papers before the CJI so that appropriate decisions can be taken on the administrative side for the constitution of a bench of "strength of at least five judges".