New criminal laws, replacing British-era legislations, to come into force on July 1

The three new criminal laws that were passed in the parliament to replace the colonial-era legislations will come into force on July 1, 2024.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday notified the date of the implementation of these three laws.

The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill will replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973, and Indian Evidence Act, of 1872.

These laws were passed by the Parliament on December 21, 2023. They received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on December 25, 2023.

The three legislations aim at completely overhauling the criminal justice system in the country by giving definitions of various offences and their punishments.

The government, however, has decided not to implement the provision related to cases of hit and run by a vehicle driver as promised to truckers who had protested against it.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023), the central government hereby appoints the 1st day of July, 2024 as the date on which the provisions of the said Sanhita, except the provision of sub-section (2) of section 106, shall come into force," one of the notifications said.

After the laws were enacted the truckers had protested the provision of Section 106 (2) which provides for 10 years imprisonment and fine to those who causes death of any person by rash and negligent driving of vehicle not amounting to culpable homicide, and escapes without reporting it to a police officer. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had said the decision to invoke Section 106 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita will be taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress.

According to the Section 106 (2) of the BNS, "Whoever causes death of any person by rash and negligent driving of vehicle not amounting to culpable homicide, and escapes without reporting it to a police officer or a magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine." While replying to a debate on the three bills in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the focus was on delivering justice rather than handing down the punishment.

For the first time, the word terrorism has been defined in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. It was absent in the IPC.

The laws have given a clear definition of terrorism, abolished sedition as a crime and introduced a new section titled "offences against the state".

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita lists offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity in the new avatar of the sedition law.

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