KOLKATA: The Bar Council of West Bengal on Friday announced that it will observe a "black day" on July 1, protesting against three new laws that will replace the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act. The council described these laws as "anti-people and draconian."
The three new laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita, will come into force on July 1.
In a resolution passed by the Bar Council of West Bengal, it was decided that lawyers practising in courts in West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would abstain from judicial work on that day. The council has requested all bar associations to hold protest rallies in their respective areas.
The BJP-led NDA government introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 in Parliament in August last year to replace the existing legal codes.
Claiming that the new laws are "anti-people, undemocratic, and draconian," the Bar Council of West Bengal stated in a press release that the observation of a "black day" and the abstention from judicial work are intended to mark their protest.