India, March 8 -- The right to dissent in a lawful manner must be treated as a part of the right to lead a dignified life under the Constitution, the Supreme Court held on Thursday, noting that every citizen of India has a right to be critical of the abrogation of Article 370 and the change of status of Jammu & Kashmir.

A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that if every criticism or protest of the actions of the State is to be held as an offence under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), "democracy, which is an essential feature of the Constitution of India, will not survive".

Section 153A of IPC penalises "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, languag...