Delhi lawyers hold protest against three criminal laws, demand amendment in some laws

New Delhi [India], July 15 : Delhi lawyers on Monday held a protest against the three new criminal laws that came into effect from July 1, by abstaining from work and said that some laws required amendments.
Advocate Jagdeep Vats, Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the Bar Association Of Delhi, told ANI, "Today all the district courts in the state are on strike in protest against the three new criminal laws. There is resentment among the lawyers and the public against the three criminal laws. We hope to get cooperation from the judiciary to make our judicial system better. We have received a proposal from the Ministry of Home to hold talks."
"There are many laws which require amendments. Today we hold a protest by abstaining from work," he added.
Karan Tarkar, Member Executive of New Delhi Bar Association, said that they hope that the government will bring changes in three criminal laws.
"We called for abstaining from work. We hope that the government will think about it and introduce changes in the provisions of the three new criminal laws. When we came back to work after the holidays, we started reading the law and discussed the loopholes that were there," he said.
Earlier, the All India Bar Association (AIBA), on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about new criminal laws and suggested that for effective implementation, there is a need to increase the strength of police personnel, judicial officers, public prosecutors, managers for court management, Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) and evening courts.
Dr Adish Aggarwala, chairman of the All India Bar Association and outgoing President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), stated in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that certain pivotal steps are necessary to ensure that your remarkable vision of ensuring the timely completion of trials, swift registration of FIRs, and expedient completion of investigations, through the three new criminal laws, reaches fruition and effectively so.
Under the new criminal laws, which came into force on July 1, 2024, FIR is to be recorded within three days of complaints submitted through electronic communication, providing impetus to the initial phase of criminal cases. The competent court has to now frame charges within sixty days from the first hearing on the charge.
A novel inclusion in the new criminal laws is the introduction of trial in absentia against proclaimed offenders after ninety days from charge framing, expediting proceedings and ensuring timely delivery of justice to victims and society at large.
The criminal courts have now been mandated to pronounce judgments within 45 days after a trial stands concluded to ensure swift justice delivery. Further, the said courts have to upload the judgement within seven days from the date of pronouncement, on their respective portals, improving access to justice for all.