The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the three re-drafted criminal law reform Bills, with Home Minister Amit Shah describing them the most modern laws globally that would be sensitive to crimes against women and children, keep State above government, is future-ready and compatible with evolving technology for the next 100 years.

The Bills were passed on a day when three more opposition MPs were suspended, further reducing the strength of non-NDA parties. The Lok Sabha comprises 522 MPs, with the BJP holding 290 seats and the National Democratic Alliance (including BJP and allies) commanding a total of 324 seats. Notably, 97 Opposition MPs have been suspended from the Lok Sabha, and 46 from the Rajya Sabha. As of the latest update, almost 49 per cent of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha are currently under suspension.

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The prominent among Opposition MPs visible in the House during the debate was Asaduddin Owaisi, President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, but leaders from the NDA-friendly parties like Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal and those from the Telugu Desam Party were also present.

‘No more colonial’

In his more than an hour-long reply to the debate on the reform of legal architecture, Shah said, “The three new Bills seek to establish a justice system based on Indian thinking,” “upholds spirit of the Constitution” and “free people from colonial mindset and its symbols”.

Taking a veiled dig at Congress, the Home Minister stated that a person of “Indian and not Italian mindset” will understand the far reaching changes aimed at offering justice and not punishment as 150-year-old colonial laws were designed at.

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Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill 2023 that aim to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act, respectively, will now be put before the Rajya Sabha for passage before the Winter Session of parliament ends on Friday.

Shah told the House that the three proposed laws focus on crime against women and children, murder and offence against the State, a move that prioritises giving justice to people and defend their human rights, the Minister stated early in his reply.

Shah highlighted the important aspects and defended the government on introduction of definition of terrorism, trial in absentia and taking away the third party right in mercy petitions which are some of the issues of the Bills on which the Opposition had divergent views. He said it was being done for ease of justice while rejecting suggestions from parliamentarians.

The re-draft

He said that the BNS will have 358 Sections instead of 511 that IPC, which it seeks to replace, has. Two new offences have been included into the BNS, while punishment in 33 offences and fines in 83 crimes have been hiked, said Shah. Minimum punishment in 23 Sections have been introduced, and 19 of them have been deleted in the new criminal code. And for the first time, community service in six offences have been drafted into the proposed law.

According to the Minister, BNS will be bulkier having 531 Sections instead of 484 in the outgoing CrPC and amendments have been brought into 177 provisions. Nine new Sections and 39 sub-sections, and 44 new provisions and clarifications have been brought into the legislation after an exhaustive process of consultation that began in 2019. Timelines have been appended to 35 Sections and at the same number of places, use of audio and video tools in probe has been acknowledged into the Bill that seeks to omit 14 Sections.

Finally, the BSA that seeks to replace the Indian Evidence Act, has 170 instead of 167 Sections despite the deletion of six of them. Altogether, amendments have been brought into 24 Sections, while two new and six sub-sections have been stitched into the BSA.

He also said that time span have been fixed right from taking cognisance of a complaint to registering an FIR, intimation on arrest of accused, filling chargesheet, starting trial and delivering judgment. Seeking endless adjournments will also become a passe and there will be uniformity in lower judiciary classification across the country, he said in his detailed response to the debate.

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