Union Home Minister Amit Shah plans to reintroduce three criminal law bills, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, with revised versions.
This decision comes after a parliamentary panel made several recommendations for amendments to the bills.
On December 11, Shah informed members of the Lok Sabha that the three existing criminal law bills would be taken back and substituted with three new bills. These new bills would include the suggested enhancements put forth by a parliamentary committee.
A Statement from the office of the Home Minister said " The bill (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) was referred to Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on August 18 for consideration. The Committee held several round of discussion with the officials of the Ministry of Hme Affairs, Ministry of Law and justice, domain experst and various stakeholders and submitted its reports along with recommendations on November 10. Based on the recommendations of the Committee ammendments are proposed in the bill (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita). it is proposed to introduce a new bill in place of the bill. "
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 were introduced in the Lower House of Parliament on August 11.
The proposed legislation aims to substitute the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act 1872.
When presenting the bills, Shah stated that the essence of these three new regulations is to safeguard all the rights granted to citizens by the Constitution.
"British-era laws were made to strengthen and protect their rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice," he said.
"We (the government) are going to bring about changes in both of these fundamental aspects. The soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to Indian citizens. The objective will not be to punish anyone but to give justice and in this process, punishment will be given where it is required to create a sense of prevention of crime," Shah stressed.
The Home Minister said that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace the CrPC, is proposed have 533 sections.
"A total of 160 sections have been changed, nine new sections have been added and nine sections have been repealed," he said.
The proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill is set to replace the IPC, with a reduction in sections from 511 to 356, including 175 amended sections, 8 new additions, and 22 repealed sections, as stated by the minister.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill is set to replace the Evidence Act and is expected to contain 170 sections, three more than the previous 167. Shah mentioned that 23 sections have been modified, one new section has been introduced, and five have been removed.
