Amit Shah introduces 3 Bills, in major revamp of criminal laws

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, which are British-era laws. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 will be sent to a parliamentary panel for further scrutiny, Shah said."The laws that will be repealed... the focus of those law was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," he said in the Lower House of Parliament.

Currently, sedition draws a punishment of life imprisonment or with a jail term which may extend to three years. The new provision changes the three-year imprisonment to 7 years.Everyone has the right to speak. We are completely repealing sedition," the Home Minister said as he moved the bills in Parliament.The term 'sedition' has been removed in the new bill and the provision has been retained under Section 150 with some changes.“Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial mean, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine,” the new provision states.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill’s Section 44 allows the right to private defence against deadly assault for instance in the cases of mob attack. Section 31 of the bill says if a communication made in good faith leads to any harm to the person, it is not an offence.Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita has a provision for bail if an accused has spent in jail half of the maximum period of punishment under the crime committed during the trial. Various offences have sought to be made gender-neutral. Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, new offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added.

Shah said the laws that will be repealed were made to protect and strengthen the British administration. “The idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen,” he said.Shah said the aim will not be to punish but to provide justice. He underlined the bills will deal with matters of “terrorism, issues of mob-lynching and crimes against women” with an iron fist. “From 1860 to 2023, the country’s criminal justice system functioned as per the laws made by the British. The three laws will be replaced and there will be a major change in the criminal justice system in the country...” Shah said in the Lok Sabha.