Three new criminal laws came into force today, know what has changed

 

1/7/2024,

Three criminal laws - Indian Justice Code, Indian Civil Defense Code and Indian Evidence Code have come into force in the country from July 1, i.e. Monday.

This bill was passed by voice vote in both houses of Parliament last year.

While passing this bill from both the houses, only five hours of debate was done and this was the time when more than 140 opposition MPs were suspended from the Parliament.

At that time, the opposition and legal experts had said that the law which will change the judicial system of the country, should have been fully debated in the Parliament.

 

These new laws have come into force in the country today, while many non-BJP-ruled states have opposed state governments being allowed to independently change the Indian Security Code, according to central government officials speaking on Sunday.

 

The Indian Judicial Code, Indian Civil Defence Code, and Indian Evidence became law on Monday, replacing the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

 

The new Indian Judicial Code now includes new offences.

For example, up to 10 years imprisonment in case of cheating by promising marriage. Life imprisonment in case of mob lynching based on race, caste-community, or gender, up to three years imprisonment for snatching.

 

Anti-terrorism laws like UAPA have also been included in it.

 

More than 650 district courts and 16,000 police stations across the country have to adopt this new system from 12 midnight on July 1. From now on, cognizable crimes will be registered under Section 173 of BNSS instead of Section 154 of CrPC.

 

What will change with the implementation of the new criminal law today?

 

• Mandatory time limit has been fixed for FIR, investigation and hearing. Now the decision will have to be given within 45 days of the hearing, and FIR will have to be registered within three days of the complaint.

 

• FIR will be registered through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS). This program works under the National Crime Records Bureau. CCTNS has been upgraded one by one so that people can register for e-FIR online without going to the police station. Zero FIR can be registered in any police station whether the crime falls under the jurisdiction of that police station or not.

 

• Earlier only 15 days of police remand could be given. But now it can be given up to 60 or 90 days. Many legal experts are expressing concern about such a long police remand before the trial of the case begins.

 

• Actions that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India have been included in the category of a new crime. While sedition, was technically removed from the IPC, which was also stayed by the Supreme Court, this new provision has been added. It gives a detailed definition of the kind of punishment that can be given.

 

• Terrorist acts, which were earlier part of special laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, have now been included in the Indian Penal Code.

 

• Similarly, organised crime, including petty crimes like pickpocketing, now attracts a punishment of three years. Earlier, states had different laws on this.

 

• Sex under the false promise of marriage has been specifically made a crime, which will attract a punishment of up to 10 years.

 

• Adultery and Section 377, which was used to prosecute gay sex, have now been removed. The Karnataka government has objected to this, saying that it is not right to remove 377 completely, because it has been used in crimes of unnatural sex.

 

• Gathering forensic evidence has now been made mandatory in investigations.

 

• More use of information technology, such as recording of search and seizure, and conducting all interrogations and hearings in online mode.

 

• Now only convicts sentenced to death can file mercy petitions. Earlier, NGOs or civil society groups also used to file mercy petitions on behalf of the convicts.

 

• Fears, apprehensions and objections

 

• A week before the implementation of the laws, two Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled states, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Tamil Nadu's MK Stalin, wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding not to implement the laws.

 

• Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had also objected to the name of this law. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said that Article 348 of the Constitution states that laws introduced in Parliament should be in English.

 

• Renowned advocate of the country and former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising recently said in an interview with journalist Karan Thapar that if the three new criminal laws are implemented on

 July 1, then we will face a big "judicial problem".

 

It is primarily feared that the accused's "life and freedom may be in danger."

 

• Indira Jaising has made a public plea to the nation's top opposition figures and the Law Minister to halt the

 

 three criminal laws up till a more thorough discussion.

 

She says that they should be considered carefully once again. • He said in this interview, “The basic principle of law is that no one deserves punishment unless he has done that work when it was a crime. In the language of law, this is called Substantial Law.

 

What was not illegal in the past is now illegal in the present. In that case, this legislation will only apply if you are required to take action.

 

Yet our procedural legislation, which

 

This is not how the Criminal Procedure Code, as it is known, operates.

 

We have many such decisions in the past, through which we take the trial forward, laws have been interpreted in the past, so it is convenient for us to see the laws from that prism.”

 

 

“The old substantive law will apply to the crimes committed before July 1 and the new law will apply to the crimes committed after July 1. However, there will be tension about whether the trial in the court will be conducted under the new law or the new procedural law. I may feel that the new law is discriminating against me, so I would like that my trial should be conducted under the old procedural law.”

 

Regarding the problems of this law, she says, “The Indian Penal Code is more than a century and a half old and the Criminal Procedure Code was also amended in 1973. The Supreme Court has given a judicial interpretation of it and therefore we have certainty about the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.''

''It will take another 50 years for the new law to achieve that level of certainty. Until then the magistrate will not know what to do. Unless the Supreme Court decides on a particular provision of the law each of the hundreds and thousands of magistrates in the country can interpret the law differently. In such a situation there will be no uniformity.''

 

"But the question is who will be caught in all this - the accused. The basic concern is what is happening to the accused? What is the guarantee that when all this is becoming clear, the accused will be on bail, there is no such guarantee under the law."

 

"The question is also, have you thought about the cases that are in the backlog, have they also been taken into account?"

 

Indira Jaising also says that “Article 21 of the Constitution is very clear that no person can be deprived of life and liberty except according to the procedure established by law.”

Human rights activist Teesta Setalvad has also called the new criminal laws a “mockery of the Constitution”.

Speaking on Friday at a program organized on the topic 'India's new criminal laws: reform or repression?', Setalvad said, "These laws make a mockery of the rights enshrined in the Constitution. Detailed discussion was needed before passing these laws but it did not happen."

Setalvad says that these laws are “against democracy and democratic fabric” and “are like a step towards Hindu Rashtra.” 

#NewLawIndia, #IndianPenalCode, #PoliceActIndia, #CivilLawIndia, #LegalReform, #JusticeForAll, #LawAndOrder, #LegalSystem, #IndianJudiciary, #LegalRights, #CrimePrevention, #PublicSafety, #LegalProtection, #IndianConstitution, #JudicialSystem, #LawEnforcement, #LegalJustice, #IndianLegislation, #LegalReformIndia, #IndianLawEnforcement,