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Replacement Of Criminal Laws- IPC, CrPC & IEA

On the last day of the monsoon session on 11th August 2023, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha, replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Indian Evidence Act (IEA), to overhaul and reform the criminal law system of the nation.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and The Bharatiya Sakshaya Bill 2023 respectively. The bills were not initially listed for introduction but were brought through a supplementary list. The bills are referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on home affairs for further scrutiny.

This comes as no shock as the Central Government had already in the year 2020, constituted a Criminal Law Reforms Committee to make suggestions to revise IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. For the same purpose, The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought suggestions from various stakeholders like Governors, Chief Ministers, Chief Justice of India, Chief Justices of various High Courts, etc.

Earlier, the 111th, 128th & 146th Parliamentary Standing Committee report had also recommended that there is a need for a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system of the country.

The Union Home Minister while introducing the bills said that “The focus of those laws was to protect and strengthen the British administration; the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the new three laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen,”

History Of The Criminal Laws

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was drafted on the recommendations of the first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the chairmanship of Thomas Babington Macaulay. It came into force in India during British rule in 1862. However, it did not apply automatically in the Princely states, which had their courts and legal systems until the 1940s. The Indian Penal Code of 1860, subdivided into 23 chapters, comprises 511 sections.

The Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was created for the first time in 1882 and then amended in 1898, then according to the 41st Law Commission report in 1973. It came into force on 1 April 1974. It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty. It also deals with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and parents. At present, the act contains 484 sections, 2 schedules and 56 forms. The sections are divided into 37 chapters.

The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed in India by the Imperial Legislative Council in 1872, during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and allied issues governing the admissibility of evidence in the Indian courts of law. It was enacted to consolidate the law relating to evidence on which the court could come to a conclusion about the fact of the case and then pronounce the judgment. The Act is divided into three parts and 11 chapters.

Structural Changes

Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita proposes to repeal 22 provisions of the IPC, proposes changes to 175 existing provisions and introduces 8 new Sections It contains a total of 356 provisions.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita repeals 9 provisions of the CrPC, proposes changes to 160 provisions thereof and introduces 9 new provisions.

Bharatiya Sakshya Bill repeals 5 existing provisions of the Evidence Act, proposes changes to 23 provisions and introduces one new provision. 

Some additional provisions include a separate law for mob lynching, a formal provision for ‘Zero FIR, the admissibility of an electronic or digital record as evidence, punishment for the rape of a minor including the imposition of the death penalty etc.

Outlook For The future

The existing Criminal Justice system cut no ice with people. From poor investigation to delayed and burdened courts, the condition of the Indian Criminal Justice system is known to all. According to Economic Survey 2018-19, about 3.5 crore cases are pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts.

According to NCRB – Prison Statistics India (2015). 67.2% of our total prison population comprises under-trial prisoners. This not only shows the alarming situation of the justice delivery system but also poor governance.

According to the Malimath Committee Report the existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.” Where it was supposed to protect the rights of the innocents, it has been instead used as a tool to harass the victims.

While under scrutiny- Victim and witness protection and compensation, formation of various new offences and simplification of the legal complexities and procedures, modern aspects of restitutive and reformative justice, Narrowing down of overflooded sections, and principled criminalization are a few aspects that should be the centre of utmost focus.

Hence not beating around the bush, one of the foremost requirements of any law is its effective implementation. The executive should make sure that the replacement shouldn’t be just limited to its name but rather be progressive and effective. After all the need is to ‘Reform’ rather than just ‘Rename’. 

Feature image provided by author.
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