Editor's Pick | LS passes Bills to replace British-era criminal laws

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three amended Bills that seek to repeal and replace criminal laws which date back to colonial times. This criminal law reform brings terrorism offences into a general crime law for the first time, drops the crime of sedition, and makes mob lynching punishable by death. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSS) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill (BSS) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. All three were discussed and passed with a voice-vote, in the absence of the majority of Opposition members from INDIA bloc parties, as 97 of them have been suspended during this session. Home Minister Amit Shah said that the three Bills stressed justice rather than punishment, and have been designed to last for the next century, keeping technological advancements in mind. Mr. Shah moved an amendment to the BNSS, which will exclude doctors from criminal prosecution for death due to medical negligence, and will make hit-and-run accident cases punishable by ten years imprisonment. Noting that more than one lakh people have been killed in terror attacks across the country over the past 75 years, Mr. Shah said that the BNSS had, for the first time, defined terrorism and included it as a separate category in the general crime law. Mr. Shah insisted that there was no scope for misuse of the terror provisions in the BNSS, but claimed that there was undue fear which made some Opposition MPs oppose the laws. The Home Minister said that sedition has been repealed in the new law. “We have replaced an individual with the country. Rajdroha (sedition or offence against the government) has been replaced with deshdroha (offence against the nation or country). Nobody will be sent to jail for criticising the government, but you cannot say anything against the country or do anything against the interests of the country,” he said. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi pointed out that Clause 187 of the BNSSS permits police custody of up to 90 days, as against the 15-day custody allowed till now and that any third party cannot file mercy petitions on behalf of convicts on death-row. Krishna Devarayalu Lavu of the YSR Congress also objected to the clause permitting 90 days of police custody. Mr. Shah, however, insisted that the total police custody would only be 15 days. SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal called the debate undemocratic and urged the Centre to discuss the Bills when most of the Opposition were present. The Hindu’s Editorials Debarring Donald: On the Trump ruling by the Supreme Court of the U.S. State of Colorado Sisi again: On the result of Egypt’s presidential elections The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which State’s CM lost his cool when DMK Lok Sabha T.R. Baalu asked for a translation of his Hindi speech during the INDIA meeting on Tuesday? Bihar Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 21 December 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( LS passes Bills to replace British-era criminal laws The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three amended Bills that seek to repeal and replace criminal laws which date back to colonial times. This criminal law reform brings terrorism offences into a general crime law for the first time, drops the crime of sedition, and makes mob lynching punishable by death. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSS) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill (BSS) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. All three were discussed and passed with a voice-vote, in the absence of the majority of Opposition members from INDIA bloc parties, as 97 of them have been suspended during this session. Home Minister Amit Shah said that the three Bills stressed justice rather than punishment, and have been designed to last for the next century, keeping technological advancements in mind. Mr. Shah moved an amendment to the BNSS, which will exclude doctors from criminal prosecution for death due to medical negligence, and will make hit-and-run accident cases punishable by ten years imprisonment. Noting that more than one lakh people have been killed in terror attacks across the country over the past 75 years, Mr. Shah said that the BNSS had, for the first time, defined terrorism and included it as a separate category in the general crime law. Mr. Shah insisted that there was no scope for misuse of the terror provisions in the BNSS, but claimed that there was undue fear which made some Opposition MPs oppose the laws. The Home Minister said that sedition has been repealed in the new law. “We have replaced an individual with the country. Rajdroha (sedition or offence against the government) has been replaced with deshdroha (offence against the nation or country). Nobody will be sent to jail for criticising the government, but you cannot say anything against the country or do anything against the interests of the country,” he said. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi pointed out that Clause 187 of the BNSSS permits police custody of up to 90 days, as against the 15-day custody allowed till now and that any third party cannot file mercy petitions on behalf of convicts on death-row. Krishna Devarayalu Lavu of the YSR Congress also objected to the clause permitting 90 days of police custody. Mr. Shah, however, insisted that the total police custody would only be 15 days. SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal called the debate undemocratic and urged the Centre to discuss the Bills when most of the Opposition were present. 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