Amit Shah says, "New criminal laws seek justice rather than punishment"

The Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Evidence Act were replaced by the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bills in Parliament. The Rajya Sabha assented to these Bills, aiming to prioritize justice over earlier British laws that prioritized penal action and were purely indigenous.

The Indian Parliament passed three Bills, backed by the BJP and NDA, aiming to provide justice over punishment. Shah emphasized the importance of justice in the criminal justice system. The Opposition walked out of the House in protest, and all speakers were from BJP and NDA-friendly parties. The legislation will pave the way for a new era in the criminal justice system. The Upper House passed 17 Bills during the winter session, adjourning sine die after passing three bills.

Let’s examine the three new criminal legislation for 2023

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has passed three new bills to replace the Indian Penal Code-1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure Act-1898, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. The bills include amendments to the Indian Penal Code-1860, giving doctors exemptions in cases of death due to medical negligence, and allowing the accused to file a plea for acquittal within seven days.

The new laws also make it compulsory to produce all documents within 30 days, reducing delays. Shah emphasized that the existing criminal laws reflect the colonial mindset, aiming to establish a justice system based on Indian thinking. The proposed criminal laws aim to free people from the colonial mindset and its symbols, ensuring justice for the poor and addressing the financial challenges faced by the poor.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

India’s Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has introduced new offenses, including terrorism, organized crime, kidnapping, extortion, and cybercrime, which threaten the country’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. The IPC has been replaced with a new offense for acts endangering the country’s unity, and terrorism has been added as an offense. Petty organized crime has also been added. Murder by a group of five or more persons on grounds of certain identity markers will be an offense with a penalty of seven years to life imprisonment or death.

So basically, The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, is the principal law on criminal offenses in India. It covers crimes affecting the human body, property, public order, public health, decency, morality, religion, defamation, and offenses against the state.

The IPC has been amended over the years to add new offenses, amend existing ones, and change the quantum of punishment. Courts have de-criminalized certain offenses, such as consensual intercourse between same-sex adults, adultery, and suicide attempts. Several states have also amended the IPC to provide different punishments for sexual offenses, selling minors for prostitution, adulteration of food and drugs, and sacrilege of religious texts. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) replaces the IPC, largely retaining its provisions, adding new offenses, removing previously struck-down ones, and increasing penalties for several offenses.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) aims to replace the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC), which governs the procedure for arrest, prosecution, and bail for offenses. The BNSS mandates forensic investigation for offenses punishable with seven years of imprisonment or more and allows trials, inquiries, and proceedings to be held in electronic mode. Forensic experts will visit crime scenes to collect forensic evidence and record the process. If a proclaimed offender has absconded to evade trial, the trial can be conducted in their absence.

The BNSS also allows for the collection of specimen signatures, handwriting, finger impressions, and voice samples for investigation or proceedings. The Supreme Court has interpreted the CrPC in various ways, including mandating the registration of an FIR for cognizable offenses, making arrests an exception for less than seven years of imprisonment, and ensuring bail for bailable offenses is an absolute right. However, the criminal justice system continues to face challenges like case backlogs, trial delays, and concerns about underprivileged groups’ treatment.

The Bhartiya Sakshya bill 2023

The Indian Evidence Act, of 1872 (IEA) governs the admissibility of evidence in Indian Courts, applicable to all civil and criminal proceedings. The Law Commission has examined the IEA multiple times, suggesting amendments on matters such as custodial violence, admissibility of police confessions, and cross-examination. In 2000, the IEA was amended to provide for electronic records as secondary evidence. In 2013, it was amended to include provisions related to consent in cases of rape, shifting the onus on the accused to prove consent. The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the IEA and has been examined by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs.

The Supreme Court has acknowledged the potential tampering and contamination of electronic records during investigations. The BSB and IEA both allow for the admissibility of electronic records, but there are no safeguards in place to prevent such contamination. The IEA allows for factual discovery in police custody, but the BSB maintains this provision. Courts and Committees have noted that facts can be discovered through coercion and lack adequate safeguards. The Law Commission has recommended removing the distinction between information obtained in police custody and outside and incorporating recommendations like the presumption that the police officer caused injuries if an accused was injured in police custody.

The advantages of new criminal legislation

Crime against women/children, impact on the human body, and security of the country” are given precedence under the rules, according to Amit Shah. According to him, victims’ statements must now be documented, and they will now be done online.