New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed members of the Lok Sabha on Monday that the three new criminal law bills, which were introduced by the Centre to replace the British-era laws as part of revamping the criminal justice system in the country, will be withdrawn and replaced with new versions.
The new bills will be drafted based on the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee.
The three Bills, along with two other Bills on reservation for women in Assemblies of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry, are expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by Shah.
The three criminal codes, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023, that sought to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, respectively were introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon Session on August 11.
The Bills were referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on August 18 for consideration.
The three bills were then referred to a select committee of Parliament for detailed evaluation and the committee was asked to submit its report within three months.
“The Committee held several rounds of discussions with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, domain experts and various stakeholders and submitted its reports along with its recommendations on November 10,” Shah said in a note.
During the introduction of the bills in Lok Sabha, Shah said that the focus of these bills is to provide justice, not punishment.
"The focus of the existing laws was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the three new laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," Shah added.