The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam are proposed as replacements for the Indian Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), respectively. These three new criminal laws will take effect on July 1 of this year.
On Friday, the Union Home Ministry issued a gazette notification regarding this transition.
A temporary suspension has been placed on Subsection (2) of Section 106 of the BNS, which deals with “causing death by negligent and rash driving of a motor vehicle.”
This provision had sparked protests in various parts of the country, mainly because it increases the maximum prison term to ten years for offenders who flee the scene of the crime without reporting it to the authorities.
The President of India gave his approval to the three bills aimed at overhauling the criminal justice system in India in December 2023. The announcement of this development was made available on the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s website.
Initially titled the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, these bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2023. They were subsequently referred to a parliamentary committee chaired by Brij Lal for further examination.
The Lok Sabha approved the bills on December 20, and the Rajya Sabha approved them on December 21.
