BY INTRODUCING three bills seeking to replace the archaic Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act (IEA), the Government has taken one more very major step towards modernising and Indianising the body of law that is operating in India for a long, long time -- since all those laws were introduced by the alien British rulers to support their method and manner of governing the country. This step is certainly in tune with the Government policy of withdrawing from operation old laws that have lost their relevance with the passage of time. The replacement of the IPC, CrPC and IEA in due course of time will prove to be a great use to the system of justice from the lowest to the highest levels. It will help in curbing crime to an extent now not within the range of imagination. The three new proposed Acts -- namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) 2023 -- will create an altogether different legal parlance in the country and offer the legal and law enforcement machineries a brand new canvas to operate upon. Many parts of the new law have shadows of the old ones, all right.

 

But some parts of the new proposals have something that was hitherto not in the practice of law enforcement. Cumulatively, thus, there will be a new format and content of the three laws that will help the country in a big way in the future. As he tabled the three Bills in Parliament, Union Minister of Home Mr. Amit Shah promised the nation that the rate of prosecution will go up to as high as 90 % which should be considered truly phenomenal. Because of the flaws in the IPC, CrPC, and the IEA, the rate of prosecution had been quite low, causing concern among the responsible members of the vast ecosystem that took care criminal justice machinery in the country. The Government’s proposed laws are now expected to take care of all those loopholes so that rate of prosecution rises phenomenally. That will be a truly welcome thing for the country. Mr. Amit Shah claimed that the new laws would ensure speedier justice to all and create a system in tune with the changing social needs and popular aspirations. The idea is to grant the citizens a stronger protection to common citizens who are law-abiding and even god-fearing.

 

The idea is not punish the wrong-doers but to provide justice to those who get hurt because of the societal flaws and dominance of the wrong practices, as Mr. Amit Shah indicated during his long presentation of the Government’s view-point. The subsequent debate on the issue may produce something that might not have been envisaged in the proposed new laws. The Government appeared quite open-minded on that count and might not hesitate in implementing the new laws the moment the two Houses of Parliament were introduced. Rather, the Government may push this cause further by initiating certain measures that would ensure that the proposed laws are considered in full measure by Parliament at the earliest point in time. Though some elements may try to attribute political motives to the action of pushing this subject, the reality is that the current Government, before it came power in 2014, had made its mind clear on the issue. The three proposals, thus, are in tune with the avowed policy and ideology.