Three new criminal laws, replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian Evidence Act from the British era, and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), will come into force from July 1, the government said on Saturday.
The three new criminal laws are- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which will completely overhaul the country's criminal justice system.
According to three identical notifications issued by the Union Home Ministry, provisions of the new laws will come into force from July 1.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 were passed by Parliament on December 21 last year.
They were enacted into law after they got assent from President Droupadi Murmu on December 25 last year. They will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 and the IPC.
According to experts, the three new laws will make punishments more stringent for terrorism, lynching, and offences endangering national security.
While 20 new offences have been added to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 19 provisions that existed in IPC have been deleted. In 33 offences, the punishment of imprisonment has been increased.
In 83 provisions, the punishment of fine has been enhanced, while in 23 offences, the mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced and in six offences the punishment of 'community service' has been introduced.
The major changes proposed in the new criminal laws include the introduction of the definition of a child; the inclusion of transgender in the definition of 'gender', the inclusion of electronic and digital records in the definition of the document and the widening of the definition of 'movable' to include property of every description.
Presenting the criminal bills in Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that laws, once implemented, will ensure the end of the 'tareekh-pe-tareekh' (date of next hearing in a case) era and justice will be delivered within three years.
