Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday withdrew the three new bills to replace criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita — and introduced a fresh set of draft legislations incorporating recommendations of a parliamentary panel in Lok Sabha.
On December 11, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had notified Lok Sabha members that the three criminal law bills would be withdrawn and replaced with three new bills that would incorporate amendments proposed by a parliamentary committee.
A Statement from the office of the Home Minister said: "The bill (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) was referred to Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on August 18 for consideration. The Committee held several rounds of discussion with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, domain experts and various stakeholders and submitted its reports along with recommendations on November 10. Based on the recommendations of the Committee amendments are proposed in the bill (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita). it is proposed to introduce a new bill in place of the bill. "
Addressing the Parliament today, Shah said instead of bringing several official amendments to incorporate recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs, the government decided to bring fresh bills incorporating changes.
The discussion on the bills will take place day on Thursday and voting will take place on Friday, Shah told opposition members who demanded sufficient time to study the three bills. He said he introduced the bills on Tuesday so that the members could get 48 hours to study the draft laws.
The Home Minister informed that mainly five sections have been tweaked and most of the changes relate to grammar and language. He also rejected suggestions of referring the three measures to a joint committee, saying the standing committee has made several recommendations.
A total of 12 hours have been allocated for discussing the three bills, Speaker Om Birla said.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 were introduced in the Lower House of Parliament on August 11.
These bills seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace the CrPC, is proposed to have 533 sections. "A total of 160 sections have been changed, nine new sections have been added and nine sections have been repealed," he said.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, which will replace the IPC, is proposed to have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, the minister said, adding that 175 sections have been amended, 8 new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, is proposed to have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167. Shah said 23 sections have been changed, one new section has been added and five repealed.
While introducing the bills, Home Minister Amit Shah said the soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to the citizens. "British-era laws were made to strengthen and protect their rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice," he said.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)