Lower House debates 3 criminal law Bills

With the majority of INDIA bloc members suspended and the rest protesting outside the House, the government Tuesday introduced three key criminal justice amendment Bills in Lok Sabha. The House debated the Bills till 9 pm with largely NDA members participating. The criminal law Bills were introduced by MoS (Home) Nityanand Rai.

The Bills seek to replace the IPC, CrPC, and the Indian Evidence Act with Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), respectively.

Initiating the debate from the Treasury, former law minister Ravishankar Prasad said that the Bills will not only usher in a new era of criminal jurisprudence but also break the shackles of slavery.

Questioning why it had taken so long to amend the laws, Prasad said, “Why was no comprehensive amendment brought in these laws? How did those who were discovering India while writing ‘Discovery of India’ miss this? This is a big question. Why didn’t the Statue of Unity come earlier?… Why has it taken 500 years for the Ram Temple to be built? It is all connected to the same mentality of servility.”

“The IPC emphasises on penalty. In BNS, the emphasis is on justice. Similarly, the Bill replacing CrPC focuses on suraksha (security). Laws concerning crimes against women have been pushed up the new Bill,” Prasad said.