Bills to replace criminal codes become laws as President Murmu gives assent

The President has given her approval to the Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which would replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act. Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the goal was to provide justice rather than punishment during a response to a discussion on the three laws in Parliament.

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday gave assent to the three new criminal law bills, which are to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Evidence Act. They were cleared by Parliament last week. The three new laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act -- will replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. They were passed by both Houses during the recently concluded winter session.

The measures were approved by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha without the presence of more than two-thirds of the opposition members, who were suspended in large numbers for misbehaving during their demand to debate the security breach that occurred on December 13 in Parliament.

Experts predict that the three new laws will result in harsher penalties for offences involving national security, terrorism and lynching. While replying to a debate on the three bills in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the focus was on delivering justice rather than handing down punishment. The Home Minister said he would ensure the end of the "tareekh-pe-tareekh" era and justice will be delivered within three years.

The three legislation aim at completely overhauling the criminal justice system in the country by defining various offences and their punishments. These have given a clear definition of terrorism, abolished sedition as a crime and introduced a new section titled "offences against the state".

The bills were first introduced during the monsoon session of Parliament in August. After the Standing Committee on Home Affairs made several recommendations, the government decided to withdraw the bills and introduced their redrafted versions last week. Shah had said the three bills were drafted after comprehensive consultations and that he had gone through every comma and full stop of the draft legislation before bringing them to the House for approval.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita lists offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity in the new avatar of the sedition law. The laws state that anybody, who intentionally or knowingly incites or attempts to incite secession, armed rebellion, or subversive activities, or who uses words, written or spoken, signs, visual representation, electronic communication, financial means, or any other means, or who engages in or commits any such act, faces life in prison or a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, as well as fines.

According to Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with sedition, anyone involved in the crime may be punished with life imprisonment or a three-year jail term. Under the new laws, 'Rajdroh' has got a new term 'Deshdroh', thus doing away with the reference to the British crown.

In one of the firsts, the word terrorism has been defined in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Earlier, it was absent in the IPC. Under the new laws, the magistrate's power to impose fines has been increased as well as the scope of declaring a proclaimed offender.