The Union government has presented three new bills in the Lok Sabha, aiming to overhaul the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act. The bills were presented by the Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah during the Parliament’s Monsoon Sessions on Friday.
This significant legislative development occurred even as the opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A.’s MPs chose to boycott the Lok Sabha proceedings over the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary.
Addressing the Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said that the new bill concerning the IPC will fully eliminate the offence of sedition. The Home Minister has also tabled the CrPC Amendment Bill.
Speaking about the Bharatiya Sanhita Suraksha Bill, 2023, Amit Shah said, “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…”
“The three Bills that I am moving today include the principle law for the criminal justice system. One is the Indian Penal Code, which was formed in 1860, the second is the Criminal Procedure Code, which was formed in 1898 and the third is the Indian Evidence Act, which was formed in 1872. We will end these laws today, which were brought by the British,” Amit Shah said.
The Home Minister said that the proposed bills are Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which aims to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha, 2023, which will substitute the Criminal Procedure Act, 1898; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, which will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
“The laws that will be repealed were formed to safeguard and strengthen the British. I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. I am about to send these bills to the standing committee,” Shah said.
Acknowledging the necessity for change, Amit Shah said that the current legal framework assigned a lesser priority to crimes against women and children despite their gravity. “Crime against women and children was given the 302nd position [under prevalent laws] despite the fact that no other crime can be more heinous. We are changing this approach, and the first chapter will now be crime against women and children,” he said.
A significant addition within the proposed bills includes a new provision targeting acts of secession and armed rebellion. Section 150 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita outlines the specifics of this provision, saying, “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.”
Furthermore, the government plans to introduce a provision for capital punishment in cases related to mob lynching.
These new development began in March 2020 when the Central Government formed a Criminal Law Reforms Committee, led by Professor Dr Ranbir Singh, to make suggestions to revise IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. After extensive public input, the committee submitted a report in February 2022, culminating in the proposed legislative changes.
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