Terror redefined, 3 revised criminal law Bills in House

Animesh Singh

New Delhi, December 12

The government has expanded the definition of terrorism in the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill-2023, which was introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha today after he withdrew the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill-2023 by including acts that threaten the monetary stability of the country.

Hurting monetary stability to be terror act

• Those who threaten, or are likely to threaten, the country by causing “damage to the monetary stability of India by way of production or smuggling or circulation of counterfeit Indian paper currency” commit a terrorist act
• Those found guilty of a terrorist act shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life
• Those who conspire or attempt to abet or incite such action, or knowingly facilitate the commission of a terrorist act, could face a jail term of not less than five years and extending to life

Shah also withdrew the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Bill and introduced in their place the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill-2023 and the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita-2023.

The government introduced the three new Bills within minutes of withdrawing the earlier legislations, with Shah informing the Lok Sabha that many of the changes were grammatical in nature.

He assured members of the Opposition that the government was in no hurry to get the new Bills passed and a discussion on these will take place on December 14.

Last month, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs had submitted its reports on the proposed Bills, suggesting various changes.

Section 113 of the newly introduced Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill-2023 says those who threaten, or are likely to threaten, the country by causing “damage to the monetary stability of India by way of production or smuggling or circulation of counterfeit Indian paper currency” commit a terrorist act.

Also, those found guilty of committing a terrorist act shall “be punished with death, or imprisonment for life”, and those who conspire or attempt to abet or incite such action, or knowingly facilitate the commission of a terrorist act, could face a jail term of not less than five years and extending to life, the provision adds. Another significant change inculcated in the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita includes causing harm to mental health in its definition of “cruelty” towards women. In the earlier version of the Bill, Section 85 had a provision of a three-year jail term for the husband, or members of his family, found guilty of subjecting his wife to cruel treatment. There was however, no clear definition of “cruel treatment”.

The new Bill also expands the definition further by including harming the woman’s mental health as well as her physical well-being. The Centre has also removed two Sections in the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, which seeks to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sections 445 (statement by the magistrate on grounds of his decision to be considered by the High Court) and 479 (bail and bail bond) were part of the earlier version, but have now been removed.

Reacting to the revised definition of a terrorist act in the new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, which includes any action threatening India’s economic security, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that “going by this new definition, the November 2016 decision on demonetisation would have been a terrorist act. And you know who should have been booked…”