3 new criminal laws to come into effect from Monday

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, June 30

The three new criminal laws -- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam – are all set to come into effect from July 1.

Passed by Parliament in December 2023 during the Winter Session, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively. President Droupadi Murmu had given her assent to these on December 25, 2023.

Three new criminal laws were expected to introduce widespread changes in India’s criminal justice system that has been mainly based on colonial-era laws.

Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – which will replace the IPC -- terrorism has been categorised as a distinct offence punishable with death penalty or a prison term extending up to life imprisonment while organised crime and mob lynching have been made separate offences with maximum punishment of death penalty. It also prescribes death penalty for raping a minor girl and up to 10-year jail for sexual intercourse with a woman (not amounting to rape) through deceitful means or a promise of marriage without intending to fulfil it. Sedition has been replaced with treason. A new chapter on crimes against women and children has been added. Buying and selling any child has been made a heinous crime.

Overlapping sections have been merged and simplified. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has only 358 sections as against 511 provisions in the IPC.

Replacing the CrPC, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will govern the procedure for investigation, arrest, prosecution, and bail for offences as also the criminal trials. It mandates forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven years of imprisonment or more; requires forensic experts to visit crime scenes to collect forensic evidence and record the process. Trial proceedings may be held in electronic mode as production of electronic communication devices, likely to contain digital evidence, will be allowed for investigation and trial. It also allows collection of specimen signatures or handwriting, finger impressions and voice samples for investigation or proceedings. It allows trial in absentia of an absconding proclaimed offender if there is no immediate prospect of arresting him. Video recording of all search and seizure have been made mandatory.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 – which will replace the Indian Evidence Act retains most of the provisions of the British era law, including those on confessions, relevancy of facts, and burden of proof. It classifies electronic records as primary evidence and expands such records to include information stored in semiconductor memory or any communication devices such as smartphones and laptops. It says electronic or digital records will have the same legal effect as paper records.

The new criminal laws attempt to introduce a modern justice system, incorporating provisions such as Zero FIR which can be lodged anywhere irrespective of the place of occurrence, online police complaints, summonses through electronic modes such as SMS and mandatory videography of crime scenes for heinous crimes.

Under the new laws, verdicts in criminal cases have to be pronounced within 45 days of completion of trial and charges must be framed within 60 days of first hearing. Statements of rape victims will be recorded by a woman police officer in the presence of her guardian or relative and medical reports have to come within seven days.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the laws, had said, “These laws are made by Indians, for Indians and by an Indian Parliament and mark the end of colonial criminal justice laws.”

The new laws were not just about changing the nomenclature but bringing about a complete overhaul and would give priority to providing justice, unlike the British-era laws that gave primacy to penal action, Shah said.

Justice Jaspal Singh, a former Delhi High Court judge, said, “There should have been lots of discussions before these new criminal laws were implemented. I only hope that the Supreme Court intervenes and stays the implementation of these laws.”

Former Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Vikas Singh said, “The government should have organised elaborate workshops, seminars and teaching exercises for police, prison and subordinate judiciary before implementing the new criminal laws. It’s a herculean task to educate the police force about the new laws.

The Supreme Court had on May 20 refused to entertain a PIL challenging the newly enacted criminal laws, saying “The petition is drafted in a casual manner.” 

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had on April 20 hailed the newly enacted three criminal laws as a “watershed moment”, saying these laws have transitioned India’s legal framework on criminal justice into the new age.

The Bar Council of India – which regulates the legal profession in India -- has requested all bar associations across the country to refrain from any immediate agitation or protest against the new criminal justice laws. The BCI said it would initiate discussions with the Union Government, represented by the Union Home Minister and the Union Law Minister, to convey the concerns of the legal fraternity.

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