New criminal laws effective from July 1; DoPT writes Central ministries, departments for inclusion of content on these acts in trainings

New Delhi [India], June 14 : The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Friday issued an office memorandum to all Central ministries and departments for the inclusion of content on new criminal laws in various training programmes, considering that these laws will come into effect from July 1.
As per the memorandum, "the undersigned is directed to say that the three new criminal laws-- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and the Bharatiya Sakshaya Adhiniyam, 2023-- to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 were notified on December 25, 2023 and will come into effect on July 1, 2024."
In this regard, it further stated "all the ministries and departments are requested to issue suitable instructions to the training institutions under their administrative control to include contents on these three new laws in various training programmes organized by them."
"Suitable use may also be made of the e-courses that offer an overview of the changes introduced through the new laws, which are available on iGoT Karmayogi portal," it said.
For any assistance in curating training programmes on the subject, the office memorandum added, the ministries and departments may take assistance of the Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita will have 358 sections (instead of 511 sections in the IPC). A total of 20 new crimes have been added to the bill, and the imprisonment sentence has been increased for 33 of them. The amount of the fine has been increased in 83 crimes and mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced in 23 crimes. The penalty of community service has been introduced for six crimes and 19 sections have been repealed or removed from the bill.
Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita will have 531 sections (in place of 484 sections of CrPC). A total of 177 provisions have been changed in the bill, and nine new sections as well as 39 new sub-sections have been added to it. The draft act has added 44 new provisions and clarifications. Timelines have been added to 35 sections and audio-video provision has been added at 35 places.
A total of 14 sections have been repealed and removed from the bill, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will have 170 provisions (instead of the original 167 provisions), and a total of 24 provisions have been changed. Two new provisions and six sub-provisions have been added and six provisions have been repealed or deleted from the bill. The recent criminal justice reform in India marks a significant shift in priorities, placing crimes against women, children, and the nation at the forefront. This stands in stark contrast to colonial-era laws, where concerns like treason and treasury offences outweighed the needs of ordinary citizens.