President Droupadi Murmu Gives Assent To 3 New Criminal Justice Bills, Turning Them Into Laws

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday approved three new criminal justice bills, turning them into laws.

Parliament ratified the bills last week, aiming to comprehensively revamp the country's criminal justice system by defining various offences and corresponding punishments.

The three newly enacted laws, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act are set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.

"The laws will come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Sanhita," according to an official notification.

While replying to a debate on the three bills in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the focus was on delivering justice rather than handing down punishment.

"Any person liable, by any law for the time being in force in India, to be tried for an offense committed beyond India shall be dealt with according to the provisions of this Sanhita for any act committed beyond India in the same manner as if such act had been committed within India," the notification said.

The provisions of this Sanhita shall also apply to any offense committed by any citizen of the country in any place without and beyond India, any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be and any person in any place without and beyond India committing offense targeting a computer resource located in India.

The laws have given a clear definition of terrorism, abolished sedition as a crime and introduced a new section titled "offenses against the state."

The legislations were first introduced during the Monsoon session of Parliament in August. After the Standing Committee on Home Affairs made several recommendations, the government decided to withdraw the bills and introduced their redrafted versions last week.

Shah had said the three legislations were drafted after comprehensive consultations and he had gone through every comma and full stop of the draft legislation before bringing them to the House for approval.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita lists offenses such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities, or endangering the sovereignty or unity in the new avatar of the sedition law.

According to the laws, anyone purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by the use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

According to IPC Section 124A, which deals with sedition, anyone involved in the crime may be punished with life imprisonment or with a three-year jail term.

Under the new laws, 'Rajdroh' has got a new term 'Deshdroh', thus doing away with the reference to the British crown. Also for the first time, the word terrorism has been defined in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. It was absent in the IPC.

Under the new laws, the magistrate's power to impose fines has been increased as well as the scope of declaring a proclaimed offender.