New laws may lead to more litigations
BENGALURU: The three new enactments - Bharatiya Naagarika Surakshaa Samhithe (BNSS), 2023, Bharathiya Nyay Samhithe (BNS), 2023, and Bharathiya Sakshyaa Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 - replacing the CrPC, IPC and the Indian Evidence Act, are not only challenging for the advocates, but also to magistrates, judges and the police, opined former advocate-general BV Acharya.
He said the new enactments have only 10-15% changes as compared to old statutes. It could have been done by bringing amendments to existing statutes, with which lawyers, magistrates, judges and the police are well acquainted. Now, they have to keep a chart to know which corresponding Sections in the statutes to apply.
After CrPC came into effect in 1973, the Supreme Court interpreted many Sections till the new enactments came into force. Replacing the existing statutes with new statutes leads to more litigation and complications, he said, adding, “We can’t call CrPC a colonial law because it was enacted in 1973. I strongly object to the change of the nomenclature in Hindi, which is against Article 348 of the Constitution, which says that the title of the statute should be in English.”
Senior advocate Hasmath Pasha said lawyers should not face any difficulty as the contents of the provisions are “as it is, what it was”, except for changes in Sections. As pointed out by Acharya, Pasha too said changes could have been introduced in the previous statues.
He pointed out that there could be an increase in litigation because more power is given to the police. For instance, the police are given 14 days to register a case after conducting preliminary enquiry for the offences with punishment between three and seven years. This will lead to more litigation. The laws should be in the interest of society and not give more powers to the police, he added.
Another advocate, wished not to be named, said lawyers would be under pressure because they would not be able to get relief to the litigants expeditiously due to the procedure to be followed concerning digital evidence. It is practically impossible to get a certificate done on digital evidence from the Forensic Science Laboratory on time, considering its present infrastructure. This will delay the trial, the accused will languish in jail, speedy justice will be a distant dream, and the pendency of cases will increase. It may also lead to corruption to get the report early. Infrastructure including the staff should have been upgraded at all institutions before enacting new laws, he added.
He said advocates will see more litigations since new enactments give more powers to police, concerning search, seizure, arrest and custody, which is draconian. Jails already brimming will get further jam-packed because of more undertrials and delays in trials.