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If a Bill that Home Minister Amit Shah introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday becomes the law of the land, Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 would no longer prescribe the punishment for murder. It would instead relate to the crime of snatching in the proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The BNS has no Section 420 of the IPC, which relates to the offence of cheating, and covers its Section 316.
On Friday, the concluding day of the monsoon session, Shah introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha to replace colonial-era laws. He said it would overhaul the criminal justice system, end delays, and ensure justice in a maximum of three years. He introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, Criminal Procedure Act (CrPC), 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.
The Opposition criticised the new Bills. The Congress said it was part of the bigger design of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to leave his imprint on everything and that for Modi, everything in the past, whether social, legal, cultural or political, was terrible and needed overhauling. The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu termed it “Hindi imposition” and an “audacious attempt” to tamper with India’s diversity. In recent years, the other Bills with Hindi names are the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill of March 2020 and the Jan Vishwas Bill.
The BNS Bill provides maximum capital punishment for crimes such as mob lynching and rape of minors, the home minister said. The Bill also has provisions to provide community service as one of the punishments for first-time petty offences.
However, while it deletes Section 124 A of the IPC, which deals with sedition, the BNS has Section 150 that lists new offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. The sedition law, known as ‘Rajdroh’ has got a new term for it, ‘Deshdroh’, thus doing away with the reference to the British crown, officials said. Section 124 in the BNS relates to the crime of wrongful restraint.
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In a post on X (previously Twitter), advocate Prashant Bhushan said: “Three hugely important laws which will affect all of us are introduced at the end of this session without any disclosure of discussion. The colonial wolf of sedition brought back sheep's clothing.”
Shah requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the three Bills for examination by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs. Under the new laws, the charge sheet must be filed within 90 days, and the court can give permission for another 90 days to look at the situation. The probe would have to be finished in 180 days and sent for trial. After trial, judgment will have to be given in 30 days.
Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions, or by hiding identity will be considered a crime and attract up to 10-year imprisonment. The provision could cover cases of interfaith marriages under false names. For gang rape, there is a provision for punishment of 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment, while there is a provision for a death sentence in case of rape with a minor. Community service is being introduced as a punishment for the first time.
Terrorism has been defined under the law for the first time, the minister said. There is also a provision for attaching the property of the terrorist. To stop political use of punishment waivers by governments, a new provision has been made that death sentences can only be converted to life imprisonment and life imprisonment be pardoned only within seven years of punishment.
Shah referred to the recent release of criminal-politician Anand Mohan in Bihar and said the provision had been made to ensure that those with political influence do not escape law.
