CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to withhold the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 until the views of all state governments and other stakeholders have been considered.
In a letter to the union minister, the CM strongly objected to the NDA government’s decision to enforce the new legislations from July 1 by repealing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Stalin pointed out that the three new legislations are named in Sanskrit in clear violation of Article 348 of the Constitution of India. “It is mandatory that all Acts passed by the Parliament shall be in English,” he noted.
Stalin also pointed out that since these three new legislations fall within List III — the concurrent list of the Constitution of India — extensive consultations ought to be held with the state governments.
The states were not given adequate time to express their views and the new laws were passed by the Parliament without the participation of the opposition parties, he said.
“In addition, there are some fundamental errors in these enactments. For instance, Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has two subsections for two distinct classes of murder that are having the same punishment. There are some more provisions in the BNSS and BNS which are ambiguous or self-contradictory,” Stalin pointed out.
Imperative to frame new rules and revise existing forms: CM
The Tamil Nadu CM also underscored the need to hold discussions with academic institutions on these legislations and the revision of syllabus for law college students which will require sufficient time.
The capacity building and other technological requirements for the stakeholder departments i.e., judiciary, police, prisons, prosecution and forensics need sufficient resources and time. It is also imperative to frame new rules and revise the existing forms and operating procedures in consultation with stakeholder departments which cannot be done in haste, he added.