The new criminal laws replacing Indian Penal Code -IPC 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure -CrPC-1973 & Indian Evidence Act -IEA-1872 will finally be replaced with effect from 1st July 2024 across the country. The Govt of India has already notified these newly enacted criminal laws namely Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS-2023), Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023- (BNSS 2023) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA 2023).
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs-MHA had last year announced that new criminal laws will overhaul the Indian criminal justice system. They aim to replace these archaic laws; according to the Union Home Minister it is meant to ensure victims get justice within a given time frame, increasing focus on national security and above all introducing digital & electronic evidence reviews, making them priorities of these laws. The trial in District & Sessions Courts won’t take years now to frame the charges. Under the BNSS 2023 the District & Sessions Court has to frame the charges within 60 days from the date of first hearing. This would take years earlier. In addition to it the trial courts are now legally bound to give judgement within 30 days of completion of the arguments.
Alternative Punishment
When the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 was tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament he maintained that “it is proposed to provide (for the) first time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences.” This unique provision under which community service has been conceived as an alternative punishment pertains to criminal defamation where the maximum punishment continues to be two years in jail, but a convict can be let off only with an order to provide community service in the wisdom of a court. The government’s move puts the defamation under the category of a petty offence (Section 356 BNS 2023)
Some of the other penal provisions where community service has been mulled as one of the punishments relate to public servants unlawfully engaging in trade (Section 202 BNS 2023), non-appearance in response to a proclamation notice (Section 209 BNS 2023), for a theft of properties valued at less than Rs 5,000 , trespass in an intoxicated state (Section 355 BNS 2023) and attempt to suicide (Section 225 BNS 2023)
IPC replaced by BNS 2023
The preamble of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS 2023 ) which was enacted on December 25th 2023 reads:
“An Act to consolidate and amend the provisions relating to offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
The BNS 2023 retains most of the offences that were included under Indian Penal Code 1860 -IPC. Pertinently the IPC was extended to J&K post article 370 abrogation and before October 31st 2019 instead of IPC the Ranbir Penal Code-RPC was applicable in Jammu & Kashmir. As explained above, community service has been included as a form of punishment. Sedition is no longer an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Section 1 (4) of BNS 2023 says that any person liable, by any law for the time being in force in India, to be tried for an offence committed beyond India shall be dealt with according to the provisions of BNS 2023 for any act committed beyond India in the same manner as if such act had been committed within India.
Section 1 (5) of BNS 2023 reads:
“The provisions of this Sanhita shall also apply to any offence committed by— (a) any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India; (b) any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be; (c) any person in any place without and beyond India committing offence targeting a computer resource located in India.”
Conclusion
The objective enactment of new criminal laws BNS, BNSS and BSA is mainly to ensure transparency and fair trial by making rigorous changes in the criminal justice system. Some criticism is being made by the people in non Hindi speaking regions of the country especially the South Indian states on account of the unblended Hindi names of these laws. But when these laws are examined on merits it seems more transparency can be ensured now vis a vis criminal justice system. The use of technology, electronic and digital records has been given a thrust. Electronic and digital records are part of evidence under new laws and this has a legal backing now. The Govt needs to create massive awareness about these new criminal laws among people. The Judges, Advocate, Police Officers and Civil Society actors also need to be trained by a team of experts. The State and District Legal Services Authorities, Administrative Training Institutes like IMPARD, & J&K Judicial Academy can play a great role in this direction.
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow.
He is Founder / Chairman Jammu & Kashmir
RTI Movement.