Three criminal code bills – the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023 – were passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The crucial bills will replace the colonial-era criminal laws. They were passed by a voice vote in the absence of as many as 97 opposition MPs, who have been suspended from the House for protesting against the December 13 incident of Parliament security breach.
So far, a total of 143 Opposition MPs have been suspended from Parliament, including today’s suspension of two more MPs from the Lok Sabha.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was present in the House, said that the new bills lay “emphasis on Indianness, the Indian Constitution and the well-being of the people”.
He said that the existing colonial-era laws were not suitable for today’s era and needed to be replaced.
The home minister said that the new bills are completely in line with the Constitution of India and that he has gone through “every comma, full stop of the new criminal laws.”
“New criminal laws focus on justice rather than punishment,” Shah said.
He further added, “For the poor, the biggest challenge to get justice is the financial challenge…For years ‘tareekh pe tareekh’ keep going. Police hold the judicial system responsible. The government holds the police and judiciary responsible. The police and judiciary hold the government responsible for the delay. Now, we have made many things clear in the new laws.”
However, the Opposition has objected to the passing of these bills without any substantial debate and said that the suspension of Opposition MPs on an unprecedented scale was conspiracy of the government.
The main Opposition Congress said that the government wanted to pass the crucial bills that would involve judges, jurists, lawyers, criminologists and other stakeholders, including the general public, without any debate.