New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday successfully passed three pivotal bills designed to overhaul the existing legal framework governing India’s justice system. These bills seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act, marking a significant milestone in legal reform.
Most of the opposition parties were not present at the time of the debate over the key bills as 97 of thier members were earlier suspended from the house for “misconduct.”
During the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah responded, stating that these laws are aligned with the spirit of the Constitution. Referring to a popular line from a Bollywood movie, he said ‘tareekh pe tareekh’ has been a bane of criminal justice system.
“Now the accused will get seven days to file a plea for acquittal. The judge has to hold the hearing in those seven days and in a maximum time of 120 days, the case would come to trial. There was no time limit for plea bargaining earlier. Now, if one accepts their crime within 30 days of the crime then the punishment would be less. There was no provision to present documents during trials. We have made it compulsory to produce all documents within 30 days. No delays will be made in that,” he said.
“For the poor, the biggest challenge to get justice is the financial challenge. For years, ‘tareekh pe tareekh’ keep going. Police hold the judicial system responsible. The government holds the police and judiciary responsible. The police and judiciary hold the government responsible for the delay. Now, we have made many things clear in the new laws,” he added.
The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill 2023 seek to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act respectively.
Earlier, the bills to replace IPC of 1860, CrPC of 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, of 1872 were introduced in Lok Sabha by the Home Minister last week.