Parliamentary panel approves bills for changes to India's criminal laws
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New Delhi: A parliamentary committee on home affairs has overwhelmingly approved three bills aimed at reforming India's criminal justice system.
The bills received dissenting notes from 10 opposition members on the panel, including P. Chidambaram of the Congress party and Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK.
The opposition members raised objections, including concerns over the use of Hindi names for the new rulebooks replacing the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act. The government argued that the Hindi names would be written in English to comply with constitutional requirements under Article 348.
In addition to the naming controversy, opposition members objected to various provisions of the proposed laws, including the retention of the death penalty. The committee has allowed the opposition members two days to submit their written dissent. The committee's report will be presented to parliament during the upcoming winter session, reported NDTV.
The Indian government established a Criminal Law Reforms Committee in March 2020 to recommend revisions to the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. The objective was to modernise these British-era laws and expedite trials to be completed within three years.
The three bills - the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023; the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023; and the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 - will replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Indian Evidence Act of 1972, and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973.
The proposed laws include provisions for stricter penalties for crimes against women and children, including the death penalty for the rape of minors.
They also aim to formalise community service as a punishment for minor offences and extend the period of police custody to up to 60 days. The laws also seek to reduce prison congestion by releasing convicts who have served half their sentences, establishing police officer accountability for arrests, recommending recording raids via videography, and allowing magistrates to visit victims' homes to record statements.
Additionally, the colonial-era sedition law will be replaced by Section 150 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with "acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India." The punishment for sedition will be increased from three years in prison to a life term or a maximum of seven years behind bars.