Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — signify the end of colonial-era legislations.

“The new criminal laws strengthen the spirit of –- of the people, by the people, for the people — which forms the foundation of democracy,” he said, adding that Nyaya Sanhita is woven with the ideals of equality, harmony and social justice, and the mantra of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is citizen first.

The Prime Minister said that the coming into effect of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, inspired by the spirit of the Indian Constitution, was an illustrious moment as the nation was at the important juncture of moving ahead with the resolution of Viksit Bharat as well as commemorating the completion of 75 years of Indian Constitution.

He extended his warm greetings to all the citizens on the occasion of successful implementation of three new criminal laws. He also congratulated all the stakeholders of the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which has become the country’s first administrative unit where 100 per cent implementation of the three transformative laws has been done.

The Prime Minister noted that there was intensive brainstorming over the challenges faced by the judicial system in the seven decades of Independence along with looking into the practical aspect of each and every law. He added that even the futuristic aspect of the Nyay Sanhita was worked upon.

Noting that the criminal laws were made by the Britishers in the pre-Independence era as means of oppression and exploitation, he said that Indian Penal Code (IPC) was introduced in 1860 consequent to the country’s first major freedom struggle in 1857. He added that a few years later, the Indian Evidence Act was introduced and then the first structure of CRPC came into existence.

Emphasizing that the country should now come out of that colonial mindset, the Prime Minister urged that the strength of the nation should be used in nation building, which necessitated national thinking. He recalled that during the Independence Day speech this year, he had pledged to the country to get rid of the mentality of slavery.

Remarking that the Nyay Sanhita was woven with the ideas of equality, harmony and social justice, Prime Minister Modi said despite everyone being equal in the eyes of the law, the practical reality was different. He added that the poor were afraid of the laws, stepping into the court or a police station even.

He remarked that the new Nyaya Sanhita would work to change the psychology of the society. He added that every poor person will have faith that the law of the country is a guarantee of equality. This, he said, embodied the true social justice assured in our Constitution.

The Prime Minister underlined that Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had sensitivity towards every victim. He stressed that it was imperative for the citizens of the country to know its details.

The laws involved provisions such as within 90 days of the complaint, the victim will have to be given information regarding the progress of the case and this information will reach him directly through digital services like SMS.

He added that a system had been created to take action against the person who obstructs the work of the police and a separate chapter was introduced to ensure the safety of women including their rights and safety at workplace, home and society.

He added that in heinous crimes against women like rape, charges would be framed within 60 days from the first hearing and it was also made mandatory to pronounce the verdict within 45 days of the completion of the hearing along with no adjournments for more than twice in any case.

“Citizen First’ is the basic mantra of Nyay Sanhita,” exclaimed PM Modi and added that these laws were becoming the protectors of civil rights and the basis of ‘ease of justice’. Noting that it was very difficult to get an FIR registered earlier, he remarked that now Zero FIR was legalized and now a case could be registered from anywhere.

The Prime Minister also noted that the victim had been given the right to be given a copy of the FIR and now any case against the accused would be withdrawn only when the victim agrees. He added that now the police would not be able to detain any person on their own and informing his/her family members had been made mandatory in the Nyay Sanhita.

Highlighting humanity and sensitivity as the other important aspects of new Nyaya Sanhita, the PM said that now the accused could not be kept in jail for a very long time without punishment and now in the case of a crime punishable with less than three years, arrest can also be made only with the consent of the higher authority. He added that the provision of mandatory bail was also made for minor crimes.

Elaborating further, the Prime Minister noted that in ordinary crimes, the option of community service was also kept in place of punishment. This, he said, will give the accused new opportunities to move forward in a positive direction in the interest of society. He added that the new Nyay Sanhita will further strengthen the empowerment of civil rights.

Emphasising that the first criterion of justice was timely justice, the Prime Minister said that the country had taken a big leap towards speedy justice by introducing the new Nyay Sanhita. He added that priority was given to file charge-sheets and give verdicts quickly in the Nyay Sanhita by setting time limits for completing each stage in any case.

“Rules and laws are effective only when they are relevant to the times,” said he, adding that today the methods of crime and criminals had changed which necessitated the introduction of new laws which are modern.

Noting that digital evidence can be kept as an important evidence and Videography of the entire process had been made mandatory to ensure that evidence is not tampered with during investigation, he said that useful tools like e-Saksha, Nyay Shruti, Nyay Setu, e-Summon Portal were developed to implement the new laws.

The PM urged that there was a need to broaden our perspective so that the law becomes a medium of citizen empowerment in our country. He added that there were many laws which lacked discussions and deliberations. Citing the example of abrogation of Article 370 and Triple Talaq, he said that there were a lot of discussions on it.

The Prime Minister added that these days, the law related to the Waqf Board was also being debated. He stressed that there was a necessity to give the same importance to those laws which were made to increase the dignity and self-respect of the citizens.

He cited the example of implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which not only empowered the Divyangs, but was also a campaign to make the society more inclusive and sensitive.

“The strength of any country is its citizens, and the law of the country is the strength of the citizens,” exclaimed the Prime Minister. This would encourage people to be law-abiding and this loyalty of the citizens towards the law is a big asset of the nation, he said.