New criminal laws: The Opposition leaders on Monday (July 1) demanded a re-examination of the new criminal laws, which into effect in the country today, arguing that the legislation was passed 'forcibly' when 146 opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha.
The three new criminal laws came into effect in the country on Monday, bringing far-reaching changes in India's criminal justice system. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) take into account some of the current social realities and modern-day crimes. The new laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
INDIA will not allow 'bulldozer justice'
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the three new criminal laws were passed 'forcibly' after suspending 146 MPs in the last Lok Sabha, and asserted that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc will not allow such "bulldozer justice" to prevail in the country's parliamentary system.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, "After the political and moral shock in the elections, Modi ji and the BJP are pretending to respect the Constitution, but the truth is that the three laws of the criminal justice system which are being implemented from today, were passed forcibly after suspension of 146 MPs. INDIA will no longer allow this 'bulldozer justice' to prevail in the parliamentary system."
Congress leader Manish Tewari has demanded that Parliament re-examine the new criminal laws, claiming they lay the foundation of turning the country into a police state. "The new criminal Laws that came into effect from 12 midnight July 1st 2024 - ( Today) lay the foundations of turning India into a Police State. Their implementation must be stopped forthwith and Parliament must re-examine them," the former Union Minister said.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the government and said it was another case of bulldozing existing laws and replacing them with three new bills without adequate discussion and debate. In a post on X, Chidambaram said, "90-99 per cent of the so-called new laws are a cut, copy and paste job. A task that could have been completed with a few amendments to the existing three laws has been turned into a wasteful exercise."
"Yes, there are a few improvements in the new laws and we have welcomed them. They could have been introduced as amendments. On the other hand, there are several retrograde provisions. Some changes are prima facie unconstitutional," he said.
"It is another case of bulldozing three existing laws and replace them with three new Bills without adequate discussion and debate," Chidambaram said. The initial impact will be to throw the administration of criminal justice into disarray, he added.
On three new criminal laws, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "Our concern was that they were not fully discussed in Parliament because all the Opposition was suspended. It would benefit from a further discussion."
TMC voices strong opposition to three new criminal laws
TMC MP Saugata Roy voices strong opposition to the three new criminal laws coming into effect today. He said that these laws were passed in a hurry with 146 opposition members absent. "Mamata Banerjee has already written to the Union government asking for deferment of the implementation of the laws. One of the major objections is that the power of the police to extend the policy custody of people, this goes against the basic principles of custodial jurisprudence. There are other provisions in the law which are not yet fully implemented, the provision against false promises of marriage, gang rape of minors and mob lynching has not been finalised. Sedition law has not been implemented. It is highly objectionable."
"We think that these laws are anti-people and that is why we seek deferment," he added.
On new criminal laws, AAP MP Raghav Chadha said, "Right from the beginning, AAP is of the opinion that it should be reviewed. It should be referred to JPC. It should not be implemented in haste. It will have far-reaching consequences."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that this law was passed in Lok Sabha when historically, 146 opposition MPs were suspended and there has been no proper discussions on this. "When these laws came to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, at that time, the experienced MPs who also practice law clearly gave their dessent note and stated the needed changes here but this law was passed in Lok Sabha when historically, 146 opposition MPs were suspended. So there has been no proper discussions on this," she said.
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