Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed the passage of the three criminal justice bills — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — as a watershed moment in India’s history. He said it marked the beginning of a new era with laws centered on public service and welfare.
“Through them, we have also bid goodbye to the outdated sections on sedition,” he said on X, formerly Twitter, after Parliament gave its nod to the three redrafted bills introduced by union home minister Amit Shah on December 12. The bills will replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act.
“These bills mark the end of colonial-era laws. A new era begins with laws centered on public service and welfare,” the prime minister said.
He added: “These transformative Bills are a testament to India’s commitment to reform. They bring our legal, policing, and investigative systems into the modern era with a focus on technology and forensic science. These bills ensure enhanced protection for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable sections of our society.”
Prime Minister Modi said the new laws will focus on organised crime, terrorism and such offences that strike at the root of the country’s peaceful journey to progress.
“In our Amrit Kaal, these legal reforms redefine our legal framework to be more relevant and empathy driven,” he said, highlighting speeches by Shah that elaborated on the key features of these bills.
Replying to a debate on the bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 20), Shah said the existing criminal laws were reflective of the colonial mindset with the intention to punish and not impart justice. “The three new bills seek to establish a justice system based on Indian thinking… The three proposed criminal laws will free people from colonial mindset and its symbols,” he said before the bills were passed in the lower house of Parliament by voice vote.
Some members of the opposition have, however, pointed to “loopholes” in the proposed legislations claiming that it will give discretionary powers to enforcement agencies. A 31-member parliamentary standing committee on home affairs headed by BJP MP Brij Lal had made several recommendations on the three bills, which were initially introduced in August, with dissent notes by opposition members. The central government had withdrawn those and introduced the redrafted bills earlier this month.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is going to be the primary legislation governing criminal offences. While it preserves several sections of the IPC, excluded from consideration are specific violations that have been invalidated or modified by judicial rulings. These include acts of adultery and same sex intercourse.
According to the provisions of the new legislation, search and seizure operations will now be videographed through electronic devices and, for the first time, the Centre has defined terrorism. Remissions have also been rationalised in the new legislation and a new provision added to include crime related to murder on the basis of race, caste, community for which a provision of minimum seven years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment or death penalty has been made.
Certain colonial words have been removed, especially those in rampant use even after independence. These words include ‘Parliament of the United Kingdom’, ‘Provincial Act’, ‘London Gazette’, ‘jury’, ‘barrister’, ‘Lahore’, ‘Commonwealth’, ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland’, ‘Her Majesty’s Government’, ‘Possession of the British Crown’, ‘Court of Justice in England’, ‘Her Majesty’s Dominions’ among others.
(With PTI inputs)
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