Amit Shah tables bill to replace CrPC, IPC & Indian Evidence Act, says sedition law to be repealed

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced the Bharatiya Sanhita Suraksha Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha to replace three laws including the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“The three Bills that I am moving today include the principal law for the criminal justice system. One is Indian Penal Code which was formed in 1860, the second is Criminal Procedure Code which was formed in 1898 and the third is the Indian Evidence Act, formed in 1872. We will end these laws today, which were brought by the British,” he said in Lok Sabha.

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“I can assure the House that these bills will transform our criminal justice system. I am about to send these bills to the standing committee. Crime against women and children was given the 302nd position (in prevalent laws) despite that no other crime can be more heinous. We are changing this approach, and the first chapter will now be a crime against women and children,” the home minister said as he tables three bills to replace IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act in Lok Sabha.

“Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 will be established in place the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha, 2023 will replace the Criminal Procedure Act, 1898; and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The laws that will be repealed were formed to safeguard and strengthen the British,” he said.

“…Under this Bill, we have set the goal that the conviction ratio has to be taken above 90%. That is why, we have brought an important provision that the Sections which provide for 7 years or a greater jail term, under all those cases forensic team’s visit to the crime scene will be made compulsory…”

He says, “From 1860 to 2023, the country’s criminal justice system functioned as per the laws made by the British. The three laws will be replaced and there will be a major change in the criminal justice system in the country…”

The new bill prioritises laws for crimes against women and children, murders and “offences against the state”.

Shah said the 1860 Indian Penal Code will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Earlier there were 511 sections but now it will now have 356 sections. 175 sections have been amended, the minister said in the Lok Sabha.

The Code of Criminal Procedure will be replaced by Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, while the Indian Evidence Act will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya.

The proposed amendments to acts of criminal law were long overdue. The inclusion of transgender individuals within the definition of gender in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023 is a crucial step to address gender neutrality,” Siddharth Malkania, a criminal lawyer based in Delhi said, adding that the proposed amendments will also address a gap in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 by categorizing physical relations made through false promises of marriage to a woman as rape.

Law related to mob lynching has also been proposed by inserting a new provision under BNS 2023 which states that when grievous hurt of a person is caused by a group of five or more persons on the ground of his, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other ground, each member of such group shall be guilty of the offence of causing grievous hurt, he said.