The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three amended Bills that seek to repeal and replace criminal laws which date back to colonial times. This criminal law reform brings terrorism offences into a general crime law for the first time, drops the crime of sedition, and makes mob lynching punishable by death.
The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSS) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill (BSS) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. All three were discussed and passed with a voice-vote, in the absence of the majority of Opposition members from INDIA bloc parties, as 97 of them have been suspended during this session.
Home Minister Amit Shah said that the three Bills stressed justice rather than punishment, and have been designed to last for the next century, keeping technological advancements in mind. “This is a pure Indian law after removing all the British imprints. As long as we are in power, we cannot become a police State,” the Minister said.
