Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Friday, introduced in the Lok Sabha the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Bill which will replace the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and completely repeal the offence of sedition.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 was introduced along with Bills to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. These two Bills are titled the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, respectively.

The home minister said the three bills were of momentous significance and aimed at replacing British-era laws with a thrust on “justice instead of punishment”. They were referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs for scrutiny.

He said that the Bills are not aimed at giving punishment but rendering justice. He said there were extensive consultations on the three Bills.

The key provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita legislation include repealing sedition, a new penal code against mob lynching, death for rape of minors and first-time community service as one of the punishments for petty offences.

The offences against women and children, murder and offences against the state have been given precedence. New offences of terrorist acts and organised crime have been added to the Bill with deterrent punishments.

New offences added on acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities, or endangering sovereignty and unity of India and there is one-year imprisonment for bribing voters during elections.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 to replace the Evidence Act provides that ‘evidence’ includes any information given electronically, which would permit the appearance of witnesses, accused, experts and victims through electronic means.

It provides for admissibility of an electronic or digital record as evidence and it shall have the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as paper records.

The Bill seeks to expand the scope of secondary evidence to include copies made from the original by mechanical processes, copies made from or compared with the original, counterparts of documents as against the parties who did not execute them and oral accounts of the contents of a document given by some person who has himself seen it and giving the matching hash value of original record will be admissible as proof of evidence in the form of secondary evidence.

It seeks to put limits on the facts which are admissible and its certification as such in the courts. The proposed Bill introduces more precise and uniform rules of practice of courts in dealing with facts and circumstances of the case by means of evidence.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 proposes to repeal the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. It provides for the use of technology and forensic sciences in the investigation of crime and furnishing and lodging of information, and service of summons, through electronic communication.

Specific timelines have been prescribed for time-bound investigation, trial and pronouncement of judgements. The Bill states that a citizen-centric approach has been adopted for the supply of copies of the first information report to the victim and to inform them about the progress of the investigation, including by digital means.

In cases where the punishment is seven years or more, the victim shall be given an opportunity of being heard before the withdrawal of the case by the Government. The summary trial has been made mandatory for petty and less serious cases.

The accused persons may be examined through electronic means, like video conferencing. The magisterial system has also been streamlined.

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 regulates the procedure for arrest, investigation, inquiry and trial of offences under the Indian Penal Code and under any other law governing criminal offences.

The Code provides a mechanism for conducting trials in a criminal case. It gives the procedure for registering a complaint, conducting a trial and passing an order, and filing an appeal against any order.