In a rather significant and bold move, the Central Government put forth a trio of bills in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2023, that essentially aimed at replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah, introduced three crucial bills namely the The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.
The reasoning behind the bill to replace these laws is that the laws were implemented by the British with the primary aim of strengthening British power by punishing people, rather than providing justice. As per Amit Shah, the new bills shall aim at providing justice, as against punishing. This bill, if passed, shall replace and revamp three historical laws that are the backbone of the criminal justice system in India. The former Union Law Secretary PK Malhotra said that the three bills replacing IPC, Evidence Act and CrPC, “are a much-awaited and desired reform of the criminal justice system. In spite of reforms made so far and a number of reports including Law Commission reports and Justice Malimath Committee reports, justice to the common man has remained a far cry and accused facing trial for petty crimes remain in prisons as undertrials for long period”.
Is this the best move?
The question remains however, whether these changes will actually translate onto the society in the manner supposed, or if it shall fail to meet the desired objective. There are various implications that may arise out of replacing laws that have been longstanding and extremely relevant. The sudden replacement of a historically important law could disrupt social stability and consistency. Ethical concerns may also arise if the new law leads to confusion, uncertainty, or potential chaos within society due to abrupt changes in rules and regulations. This replacement even has the potential to lead to unintended consequences. There must always be a balance between progress and tradition. Updating laws is essential in order to reflect changing societal needs.
In the present scenario, it is true that the laws reflect a British undertone, and although forming part of India’s history, may not be essential to be reflected so inherently in our society. However, are these new laws serving the intended purpose?
What are the changes?
Apart form the apparent change in the title of these acts, many sections have been amended, repealed, or added. This has been done to suit the transforming societal status as well as to lift the irrelevant provisions enacted by the British.
The possible positives-
- Zero FIRs– The new law is to contain a provision for a First Information Report (FIR) in any police station, irrespective of where the crime is committed. The FIR must, however, be registered in the same State or Union Territory. It also allows the filing of e-FIRs.
- Police Accountability- With the law allowing filing of zero firs in any police station, the police will have to maintain a proper system of sharing information via establishment of a police control room (PCR). The police are also bound to provide information to any victim about the progress of investigation in their case within 90 days.
- Women-Friendly Changes- The new bills propose more stringent punishments in cases of rape and gang rape, while also attempting to ease the legal process for survivors of sexual assault.
- Speedy Justice- Once the charge-sheet is filed by the police, the court has a 60-day window to frame the charges in the case and begin the trial. Once the trial in the case is completed, the judge is duty-bound to pronounce the verdict within 30 days, and thereafter the judgment copy must be uploaded online within 7 days.
- Hit-and-Run Cases- Section 104(1) of the Sanhita proposes a jail term of 10 years if the accused does not report the incident to the police or a magistrate. As opposed to two years under Section 304A of the IPC.
- End to Frequent Adjournments- To put an end to the culture of frequent adjournments, the proposed law limits the number of times a lawyer can seek an adjournment in a case to two. Presence of a lawyer in another court cannot be a ground for delaying proceedings.
- Community Service as Punishment- For petty offences like theft, trespass, breach of peace, etc., the court can now award community service as a form of punishment.
- Digitisation of Case Documents- All documents related to a case from the FIR to the charge-sheet and court orders will all be available in a digital form to the parties involved in a case.
The potential negatives-
- Police Custody- The Sanhita grants expanded powers to the police to seek police custody, where the police can seek the 15-day custody at any time within 60-90 days of the arrest, as opposed to 15 days, depending on the offence.
- Bail Not the Rule, Jail Still Not the Exception- There is no relief for a common man when it comes to grant of bail and enforcing the ‘bail is the rule, and jail an exception’ through means of a proper law. No new option for default bail has been given, except for undertrials who have served at least half their sentence.
- Trial in Absence of an Accused- A person accused of a crime, and who may be absent or absconding, can be convicted and sentenced, on the presumption that he has waived his right to a fair trial if 90 days have elapsed since framing of charges.
- Seizure of Digital, Electronic Evidence- The new law explicitly allows digital devices such as phones, laptops, etc. to be seized during an investigation. At the same time, with changes in the Evidence Act, electronic and digital records can be submitted as evidence before a court, giving it the same legal effect as physical evidence in the form of documents. Emails, messages, server logs, etc., will all be included as part of electronic evidence.
- ‘Proceeds of Crime’ Under Ambit of IPC-A new addition in the Bill gives a police officer the power to attach any property he deems to be “proceeds of crime”. The police officer can attach properties that he has a reason to believe have been obtained directly or indirectly as a result of a criminal activity.
Apart from these, there are various additions such as imprisonment for false promise to marry, repealing of sedition law, death penalty for the rape of minor and community service for defamation. There exist numerous much awaited changes, some on a rather positive note, whereas others, not as much.
Various experts seem to welcome this novel enactment. Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa said that the laws were implemented more than a hundred years ago and were in dire need of modifications. The former Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad termed the three bills as historic and said that these will strengthen India’s criminal justice system. Whether or not these laws in action will serve the intended purpose or not, only time can tell.
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