The three new criminal law Bills: Missed opportunities and misplaced priorities
Published on: 8 September 2023, 07:47 am
A close analysis of the triad of Bills brought in to reform the criminal justice system reveals that they fall short of the intended mark.
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THE Union home minister Amit Shah presented a trio of Bills with the stated objective of revitalising India's justice system.
These are, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 to consolidate and amend provisions related to offences and connected matters.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 to consolidate and amend laws relating to criminal procedure.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 to consolidate and provide general rules and principles of evidence for fair trial.
These proposed legislative amendments encompass substantial revisions to the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act (IEA) respectively.
The underlying motif threading these Bills is the elevation of justice above punitive measures, harmonising the legal structure with the evolving requisites of society.
These Bills demonstrates the government's concerted efforts to translate the nomenclature into Hindi while upholding the substantive content exclusively in English, ostensibly as a means to distance itself from the perceived influence of 'English laws' (although the precise mechanisms of this intended dissociation remain somewhat enigmatic).