No More IPC And CrPC: New Criminal Laws Come Into Effect

Three new criminal laws, replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, came into effect today across India. The new laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, were cleared by the Parliament in December last year. The central government's move comes even as the Opposition demanded a postponement of its implementation. 

The three laws were passed during the Winter Session of the parliament in the absence of several Opposition MPs. Notably, the Winter Session witnessed the suspension of 100 Opposition MPs in the Lower House and 46 in the Upper House amid the Opposition's protest over the Parliament security breach. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge severely criticised the central government over the implementation of new laws. In a post on X, the Congress leader said that the laws that are being implemented "were forcibly passed" by suspending 146 MPs. "INDIA will no longer allow this “Bulldozer Justice” to run on the Parliamentary system," Mallikarjun Kharge added in the post.

At the same time, the first FIR under the new criminal law was registered against a street vendor on Monday in New Delhi's Kamla Market Police Station. An FIR under Section 285 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered for obstruction under the foot-over bridge (FoB) of New Delhi Railway Station.