"Criminal justice laws humanized...": Amit Shah in Lok Sabha three major new bills

New Delhi [India], December 20 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the three new criminal laws are being humanized for the first time after so many years of independence.
He said that the old laws were not made for the citizens of this country but for the security of British rule.
Shah was replying to the discussion on the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha today.
The Home Minister said that the new laws being brought in place of three old laws have been made on the basis of the three basic spirit of our Constitution - freedom of the individual, human rights and the principle of equal treatment to all.
He said that justice has not been imagined in the present three laws and only punishment has been considered as justice. He said that the purpose of giving punishment is to give justice to the victim and to set an example in the society so that no one else commits such a mistake.
The bills were passed by the House after the discussion.
The Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the first time, changes have been made in the three laws governing the nearly 150-year-old criminal justice system, concerning Indianness, the Indian Constitution and the people of India.
He said that the purpose of the Indian Penal Code made in 1860 was not to give justice but to give punishment.
He asserted that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will replace the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
He said that these three laws made with the Indian soul will bring a huge change in our criminal justice system.
Shah said that the Prime Minister had exhorted from the ramparts of the Red Fort that this country should soon get freedom from colonial laws and in accordance with that, the Home Ministry had started intensive discussions from 2019 to bring changes in these three old laws.
He said that in new laws crimes against women and children, matters affecting the human body, security of the country's borders, crimes related to the Army, Navy and Air Force, electoral crimes, tampering with coins, currency notes and government stamps etc. are kept first.
He further asserted that the Modi government has done the work of closing all its loopholes by explaining terrorism for the first time in these laws. He said that in these laws, the work has been done to convert sedition into treason and such determination has been laid in it that anyone who harms the country will never be spared.
Shah said that all the provisions have been made in these laws to equip our judicial system by imagining the possible technological innovations that may take place in the coming 100 years.
He said that mob lynching is a heinous crime and there is a provision for death penalty for it in these laws.
Shah said that a good balance has been maintained between the rights of the police and the citizens. Provisions have been made in these laws to increase the rate of punishment and to prevent cybercrimes.
He added that to reduce the burden on jails, community service is also being included as a punishment for the first time and it is being given legal status.
Amit Shah said that a total of 3200 suggestions were received regarding these laws and he himself held 158 meetings to consider these three laws. He said that on August 11, 2023, these three new bills were sent to the Standing Committee of the Home Ministry for consideration.
Shah said that under the leadership of PM Modi, all three new laws have been brought on the basis of the basic principles of justice, equality and fairness.
He said that forensic science has been given a lot of importance in these laws. In order to ensure speedy justice through these laws, there are prescribed time limits for the police, lawyers and judges.
The Home Minister said that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which will replace CrPC, which has a total of 484 sections, will now have 531 sections. 177 sections have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 14 sections have been repealed.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which will replace the IPC, will now have 358 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections. 21 new offences have been added in it, the term of imprisonment has been increased in 41 offences, the penalty has been increased in 82 offences, mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced in 25 crimes, there are provisions of community service as a punishment in 6 crimes and 19 sections have been repealed, he said.
Similarly, the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 24 sections have been amended, 2 new sections have been added and 6 sections have been repealed.
Amit Shah said that this is the Narendra Modi government; it does whatever it says. We had said that we will remove Articles 370 and 35A and we did that, we will adopt a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and extremism and give a free hand to the security forces, we did it.
He said that these policies have led to a 63 percent reduction in violent incidents and 73 percent reduction in deaths in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremist-affected areas and the Northeast.
He said that AFSPA has been lifted from more than 70 percent of the North-East as the law-and-order situation has improved there. He said that we had said that we will build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
He added, we had said that the Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya and Ram Lala will be seated there on January 22, 2024. We had said that we would give 33 percent reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, we honoured the mother power of the country by giving them reservation with unanimous consent. We had said that triple talaq is injustice to Muslim mothers and sisters and we will abolish it, we fulfilled that promise as well. We had said that we will increase the speed of justice delivery and justice will not be based on punishment, PM Modi has done this as well today.
The Home Minister said that justice is an umbrella term and that it lays the foundation of a civilized society. He said that today an attempt has been made to fulfil the people's expectation of justice through these three new bills.
He said that the legislature, judiciary and executive together will establish the Indian idea of justice system in this country.
Shah said that earlier there were laws with a centralized idea of giving punishment, now victim-centric justice is going to be introduced. The ease of Justice has been realized through simple, consistent, transparent and accountable procedures and fair, time bound, evidence-based speedy trials have been kept for enforcement which will reduce the burden on courts and jails.
Shah said that we have strengthened the prosecution on the basis of forensic science in the investigation and have made it mandatory to record the statement of rape victim through audio-video mode.
Amit Shah said that in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, priority has been given to crimes related to human and body, like - rape, gangrape, crime against children, murder, kidnapping and trafficking etc.
He said that PM Modi has taken a historic decision and completely removed the section of sedition. Shah said that we have replaced sedition with treason.
The Home Minister said that no one can speak against this country and no one can harm its interests.
Shah said that if anyone plays with the flag, borders and resources of India, he will definitely have to go to jail because the Narendra Modi government's thrust is that the security of the country comes first. He said that we have talked about purpose and intent in the definition of treason and if the purpose is treason, then the accused should be given the harshest punishment.
He said that some people are trying to give color to these new initiatives, but the Modi government is a government run according to the spirit of the Constitution and if anyone does anything against the country, he will definitely be punished.
The Home Minister said that in order to expel the British from the country, thousands of freedom fighters spent the golden years of their lives in jail on charges of sedition, today this initiative of the Narendra Modi government will definitely give satisfaction to their souls that in independent India, this unjust provision has been abolished today.
Shah added that a provision has been made regarding the Director of Prosecution.
He said that now an independent Directorate of Prosecution will be established in every district, at the state level, who will decide the appeal in the case in a transparent manner. In many cases, police accountability has been fixed and information about the arrested person will have to be mandatorily maintained in every police station.
Shah said that various provisions have been made in these laws for the safety of women and children.
He said that a new chapter in this regard has been added in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. There is a provision for life imprisonment and death penalty for the crime of rape of a woman under 18 years of age. He said that in cases of gangrape, there is a provision of imprisonment of 20 years or imprisonment till death.
Shah said that for the first time after 75 years of independence, the Narendra Modi government has given a place to terrorism in the criminal justice system.
He said that if any death occurs in incidents like the use of dynamite, explosive material, poisonous gas, or nuclear, then those responsible for it will be considered involved in terrorist acts.
He said that this definition leaves no scope for misuse of this law, but those who commit terrorist acts should get the harshest punishment and the approval of this section by this House will send a message of zero tolerance against terrorism.
The Home Minister added that organised crime has also been defined and explained in these laws for the first time. He said that in cases of culpable homicide, there is a provision for lesser punishment if the accused goes to police to report the case and takes the victim to the hospital for medical treatment.
He said that for the hit-and-run cases, we have made a punishment provision of 10 years of imprisonment.
The Home Minister said that now the police will have to register an FIR within 3 days of the complaint and in cases involving a punishment of 3 to 7 years, the FIR will have to be registered after preliminary investigation.
He said that now we have made a provision to send the medical examination report of the rape victim directly to the police station and court within 7 days without any delay. He said that now the time limit for filing the charge sheet has been fixed at 90 days and after this the investigation can only be conducted for another 90 days.
Shah said that the magistrate will have to take cognizance of the case within 14 days and then action will start. He said that the request for acquittal by the accused will also have to be made within 60 days.
Shah said that there are many cases in which the accused can be tried and sentenced even in his absence within 90 days. Now the judge will have to give his decision within 45 days of the end of the case. Along with this, there will be only 7 days between the decision and the punishment. Mercy petitions can be filed only within 30 days of the Supreme Court rejecting the appeal.
Amit Shah said that a woman can lodge an FIR in the police station through e-FIR, cognizance of it will also be taken and arrangements have been made to provide a reply to the woman at her home within two days.
He said that we have also used technology to stop the misuse of police powers. He added that we have given importance to the use of technology in all three stages of crime--scene, investigation and trial--which will not only ensure transparency and accountability in police probes but will also improve the quality of evidence and help in protecting the rights of both the victim and the accused. Compulsory provisions for video recording of evidence, search and seizure have been made, which will greatly reduce the scope of framing someone.
Shah said that the Narendra Modi government has taken the decision to make the statement of the victim compulsory in a rape case.
The Home Minister said that the conviction rate in our country is very low and to increase it, thrust will have to be given on scientific evidence. In this bill, with the aim of improving the quality of investigation, conducting investigation using scientific method and aiming at a conviction rate of 90 per cent, we have made a provision that the visit of the FSL team will be compulsory for crimes punishable for more than 7 years.
He said that when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he created the Gujarat Forensic Science University, when he became the Prime Minister, he created the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) and under the National Forensic Science University, till now, seven campuses of NFSU and two training academies have been opened in nine states. After 5 years, we will get 35,000 forensic experts every year who will meet our needs.
He added that the Modi government is building six state-of-the-art Central Forensic Science Laboratories.
Amit Shah said that now the victim can go to any police station and lodge a zero FIR and it will have to be compulsorily transferred to the concerned police station within 24 hours. Along with this, a police officer has been designated in every district and police station who will prepare a list of the arrested people and inform their relatives.
Shah said that the bail and bond were not made clear earlier, but now the bail and bond have been made clear.
He said that a provision has also been made for the confiscation of the property of the proclaimed offenders. Earlier, one could be declared a fugitive only in 19 crimes, now, a provision has been made to declare a fugitive in 120 crimes.
The Home Minister said that under the trial in absentia, criminals will now be punished and their property will also be attached. A provision for bail has been made for under-trial prisoners who have served one-third of their imprisonment.
He said that steps have been taken to rationalise the remission of the sentence. If there is a death penalty then the maximum can be life imprisonment, it cannot be less than this. If it is life imprisonment, then 7 years punishment have to serve and if it is 7 years or more, then at least 3 years have to spend in jail.
He said that a large number of property lying in the police stations will be sold by the Magistrate after getting the videography done and with the consent of the court, it will be sold within 30 days and the money will be deposited in the court.
Shah said that the Modi government has made many changes in the Indian Evidence Act. Electronic record has been included in the definition of document and now any type of electronic record will be considered as a document. He said that statements received electronically have been included in the definition of evidence.
The Home Minister added that when it is fully implemented in every police station of the country, then our judicial process will become the most modern judicial process in the world.
Amit Shah said that till now the work of computerizing 97 per cent police stations of the country has been completed through ICJS.
He said that the courts are also being modernized and through ICJS, Forensic Science University, Police Station, Home Department, Public Prosecutor Office, Jail and Court are on the verge of going online under a single software. Along with this, smartphones, laptops, message websites and locational evidence have been included in the definition of evidence, and accused and victims have been allowed to appear before the court through electronic means.
The Home Minister said that for a terrorist act, the crime would be registered at one place, but till date terrorism had not been defined in CrPC and people used to escape. He said that through this law we have closed all the ways for their escape.
Shah said that only those who repent for their actions have the right to mercy. He added that India would be the only country to give place to forensic science in the law with such determination.
Shah said that by eliminating all the signs of slavery of the British era, now this is going to become the complete Indian law.