Jammu and Kashmir's role in implementation of new criminal laws was good: CM Omar Abdullah

New Delhi [India], February 18 : Following the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the Union Territory's role in the implementation of these laws was good and wherever there has been a little weakness that would be rectified.
CM Omar Abdullah said, "The Home Minister has been continuously reviewing the criminal laws that have been implemented in the country and to what extent they are being used. In this regard, this time, it was Jammu and Kashmir's turn. Before this, a review of 11 states and union territories was done. To a large extent, Jammu and Kashmir's role in the implementation of these laws was good. The place where there has been a little weakness has been mentioned and that will be rectified."
He further said that the elected government would have to take some steps to raise awareness of the new criminal laws at the level of universities, colleges, and social or political assemblies.
"As far as the elected government is concerned, although it is not our responsibility to implement the law in a Union Territory but as these are new laws and people should be aware of the law, the elected government will have to make some progress, whether at the level of universities, colleges, social or political assemblies, this was also discussed," he further said.
Home Minister Amit Shah held a review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in Jammu and Kashmir today in the national capital.
The meeting at the North Block was held in the presence of J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and J-K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The meeting covered the present status of various new provisions relating to police, jail, courts, prosecution and forensics mentioned in the three new criminal laws--the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023--that replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, state Director General of Police, Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and several senior officials from the Union Home Ministry and the UT government.
In February, the Home Minister reviewed the implementation of these laws in a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra and asked him to implement these laws across all commissionerates as soon as possible.
Shah has held similar meetings with other states in the past few months regarding the implementation of the three new criminal laws. These states include Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana.
During the discussion in a similar meeting earlier with various states and UTs, the Home Minister had said that the essence of the three new criminal laws introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi lay in the provision of delivering justice within three years, from the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) till the highest court.