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In order to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860; Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1898; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872), Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled three Bills in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act are all intended to be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bills of 2023, respectively. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has been notified about the bills.
According to Shah, 313 amendments to the three criminal laws have been recommended with the goal of ensuring that litigants receive justice in a timely manner. The rules that are being replaced, according to Shah, "were essentially designed to ensure the survival of the British administration and their goal was to punish, not deliver justice."
The new laws will uphold constitutional rights and uphold the rule of law. The treasury benches thudded their desks as he declared, "These laws shall be infused with the Indian soul.
The deletion of Section 124A, which deals with sedition, and the addition of a new section outlining the penalties for secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities, or actions endangering the sovereignty, unity, or integrity of India are two of the BNS Bill's significant amendments.
Shah stated that the bill's proposal for mob lynching punishment, which can include the death penalty, was made after carefully examining numerous such cases. Ten years in prison have been added as a new penalty for having sex with women on false pretenses of marriage. However, the measure stipulates that "sexual conduct by a man with his own wife, where the wife is not under the age of eighteen, is not rape."
The court will try and sentence fugitive offenders such as crime boss Dawood Ibrahim in absentia, according to Shah.
The testimony of survivors of crimes against women must now be recorded on camera. According to Shah, the police must give the victim or complainant a 90-day update on the status of the complaint. The police are required to consult the victim before withdrawing any charges carrying a sentence of seven years or more. For minor transgressions, community service is sometimes suggested.
There is a 180-day time restriction for filing charge sheets. A competent court may grant an additional 90 days to the police after they have submitted their charge sheet, but this time limit cannot be exceeded, the minister added. In regards to prosecuting government employees, the law suggests making a decision regarding the punishment within 120 days; otherwise, it will be assumed that the prosecution was authorized. He stated that a charge sheet will not be accepted without video documentation of the search and seizure.
The SP currently in charge would submit the facts before the court, Shah said. "We have observed that retired police officers are called by courts to record evidence but either they don't remember the testimony or refer to the case file," Shah added.
Once enacted by Parliament, the law will probably take effect nationwide in seven years.
