The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions against the sedition law, Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code, on May 10. The top court said it will take a call on whether the matter should be sent to a larger constitutional bench of seven judges.

A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, on Thursday granted time until Monday, May 9, to the Union government to file a counter-affidavit. The petitioners in the case have been given time until Saturday, May 7, to file their response.

The issue of the size of the bench assumes significance given that the top court will now review its own ruling in the Kedar Nath Singh case of 1962 which had upheld the sedition law by a five-judge bench. In the landmark case, the top court had also attempted to restrict its misuse.

Currently, the court is considering a batch of writ petitions filed by army veteran Major-General S.G. Vombatkere (Retired); Editors Guild of India; former Union minister Arun Shourie; Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra; journalists Anil Chamadia, Patricia Mukhim, Anuradha Bhasin; People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL); and the Journalist Union of Assam.