Government to introduce three new Criminal Bills

News

  • Incorporating the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, the government will present three new Criminal Bills.
  • This August, three bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha with the aim of replacing the laws from the British era and they are Bharatiya Sakshya Bill-2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill-2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill-2023.
  • The purpose of these three bills is to replace the British era Billse. Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Act of 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

Why do we need Criminal Bills?

  • The goal of the reform is to make the complicated and antiquated criminal laws more straightforward.
  • The reform will repeal the draconian sedition law under Section 124A of the IPC, which has been widely condemned for being used against dissenters and government critics.
  • In addition, the reform will create new crimes that the current laws do not sufficiently address, like organized crime, mob lynching, terrorism, and corruption.
  • The reform will gender-neutralize some sexual offenses by including men and transgender people as potential victims and offenders alongside women.
  • Through the reform, forensics and electronic evidence will be used more frequently in investigations, prosecutions, and adjudications.

The Criminal Justice System: The criminal justice system is to protect everyone’s rights and safety by preventing, detecting, prosecuting, and punishing criminal activity. It is made up of various laws, procedures, and organizations. It consists of establishments such as law enforcement agencies, courts, legislatures, and other auxiliary groups like forensic and investigative agencies.

About the three Acts

●   The official criminal code of India is the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which was drafted in 1860 following the establishment of the first law commission in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833.

●   India’s Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) lays out the steps for enforcing criminal law. It was passed into law in 1973 and went into force on April 1st, 1974.

●   The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed in India by the Imperial Legislative Council during the British Raj in 1872, contains a set of rules and related issues governing evidence admissibility in Indian courts of law.