RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh police signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) to impart a comprehensive training-cum-sensitisation programme on the new criminal laws that will come into effect on 1 July 2024.
The agreement was inked at the state police headquarter in Nava Raipur at a function attended by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, State Home Minister Vijay Sharma and senior officials.
The three new criminal bills were enacted by the union home ministry and passed by the parliament in December last year. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam to replace Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act will recondition the criminal justice system in the country.
The MoU will integrate capacity-building programmes covering the senior police officials, station house officers and other field staff of the department. The programmes will engage former Jurists from the Supreme Court, high courts, senior counsels from the courts and academic experts.
“The legal system of any country is a reflection of the agreed values of that nation. Therefore, the word ‘penal’ included in the name of three laws of the colonial era has been replaced with the term ‘Nyaay’, which is a true representation of justice in our society”, Sai said during the occasion.
“Chhattisgarh is the first state where such a significant move to sign an MoU has been taken for capacity building and training of police officials. Any new set of laws need to be tested and to incorporate changes based on its functional inputs”, said Prof Ranbir Singh who was guest of honour at the event and earlier headed the ‘Expert Committee’ constituted by the union home ministry on amendments on the laws and that report submitted in 2022.
The exercise will serve as feedback to HNLU from the operational side of the new laws for further reforms and amendments to the policy makers, stated Prof V C Vivekanandan, vice-chancellor of HNLU.
One of the key areas of focus for Chhattisgarh police in the upcoming training programme will be understanding the intricacies of the new criminal laws and how they impact policing practices.
“It includes learning about the various provisions of the laws, how to interpret them correctly and to apply them in real-life situations”, said Ashok Juneja, Chhattisgarh Director General of police.
