12 Dec 2023 3:11 AM GMT
The Central Government has decided to withdraw the three criminal law reform bills - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita- introduced by it in the Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure respectively.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed members of the Lok Sabha on December 11 that the three criminal bills will be withdrawn and replaced with three new Bills after incorporating the changes recommended by a parliamentary committee, reported The Hindu.
The bills were introduced in the Monsoon session of the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and were referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
Last month, the Committee submitted its reports on the proposed bills, suggesting various changes. For example, the committee recommended that a provision to criminalise adultery- which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018 - be introduced in a gender-neutral form. It also recommended the retention of a provison similar to Section 377 IPC to criminalise non-consensual homosexual acts.
The panel also recommended provisions in the new CrPC bill to secure digital evidence. Concerns were also expressed by it regarding the provision allowing police custody beyond 15 days of arrest. It also suggested that modalities of online FIR be left to the States.