However, they will reportedly send the proposed legislation to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three new bills in the Lok Sabha on Friday, 11 August, to replace major sections of the law such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) and the Indian Evidence Act.
Shah claimed that the following three bills would overhaul India’s criminal justice system:
- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 (to replace Indian Penal Code)
- The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 (to replace The Indian Evidence Act, 1872)
- The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 (to replace The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973)
While the proposed bills continue to court controversy, here’s a lowdown on the key changes.
Read also: Civil Judge interview questions for Indian Evidence Act Part-2
Brief Overview
- While ‘sedition’ might have been repealed, a new section outlines and prescribes penalties for “Acts endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.”
- In the IPC, Section 302 outlines punishment for murder; In the Sanhitas Section 302 covers snatching
- Section 420 is for ‘cheating’ in the IPC, but there is no section 420 in the Sanhitas
- There is no specific provision in the IPC that talks about sexual intercourse on the pretext of a false promise of marriage, but in the proposed bills there is a specific provision
- The new bills prescribe a minimum of 20 years in prison for a person convicted of gang rape, with the maximum punishment being life imprisonment
- The new bills propose “death penalty for rape of a minor”
- They have introduced community service as a penalty for offenses such as defamation, minor theft, and attempted suicide.
- Proposed bills might make mob lynching punishable with 7 years or life imprisonment or death penalty. Note: that the bill does not specify mob lynching; instead, it defines it as “murder by 5 or more persons.”
- The entire process, starting with the registration of an FIR and extending to the upkeep of the Case Diary and submission of a Charge sheet, will be digitised.
- They will enable a comprehensive trial, including cross-examination and appeals, by utilizing video conferencing.
- It is mandatory to employ videography when recording statements from victims of sexual crimes
Also Read: Section 124(A) of Indian Penal Code
Sedition Gone?
Shah has proposed one of the major legislative changes, which involves the repeal of the contentious colonial-era sedition law (Section 124A of IPC) that resulted in the arrest of 86 individuals across the nation in 2021, as reported by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Read Also: Sedition Law (Section 124A)
Yes, but: lawyers and criminal law experts The Quint spoke to argued that the new Bill has provisions for punishment for offences similar to those under the sedition law.
Read Also: 302 is not murder, 420 is not cheating: How IPC Section numbers will change
