The need to reform the Indian legal system has been felt for a long time. Though there have been some piecemeal reforms in the post-independence period, the introduction of three Bills by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha is going to transform the entire criminal justice system which India inherited from the British era. 

The central government introduced the drafts of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023 which are poised to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Criminal Procedure Act, 1898 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively. 

These Bills are touted as the first steps to free the Indian legal system from the colonial hangover as they have been drafted in consonance with the Indian thought process.

These drafts were formed through an extensive consultation process that included views and responses from 22 law universities, five judicial academics as well as from the Supreme Court, 16 High courts and 152 MPs and 270 MLAs. 

While some sections of the old Acts have been retained, some have been changed, new ones have been added, and some have been repealed completely. 

The proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill will have 356 sections instead of the 511 sections of the IPC 1860. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, will have 533 sections instead of the earlier 484. The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill will have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167 of the IEA, 1872. 

With a total of 313 changes, the major objectives and aims of the three new legislations are:

• To protect the rights given to Indian citizens by the Constitution.

• To give justice instead of punishment.

• Give primacy to citizens instead of governance by facilitating speedy justice. 

Some of the major highlights of the Bills are:

1) Bid to increase the conviction ratio: The purpose of the Bills is exclusively to increase the percentage of conviction rates. The rule of law can only prevail when the criminals are taken to task. The police would not have any scope to hold up the investigation for an indefinite time. 

The chargesheet will be filed within 90 days and the investigation procedure will have to be done within 180 days. Once the arguments are completed, the court will have to deliver a verdict within 30 days which will be made available online within seven days. Also, the scope of summary trials has been increased in petty cases. 

Once the Bills come into effect, crimes punishable by up to three years will be included in summary trial. In case the accused are public servants, the government will have to decide on permission within 120 days for trial. Failure to do so will be deemed as permission for conducting their trial.

2) Crime scene visit by forensic experts: The visit of the forensic team is being made compulsory on the crime scene. Also, videography has been made compulsory at the time of search and seizure which will be part of the case. Without such recording by the police, no chargesheet will be considered valid. 

A target of setting up three mobile Forensic Science Laboratory (FSLs) in every district has been taken up along with the training of 33,000 forensic scientists and experts every year.

3) Filing of Zero FIR: A provision for zero FIR has been introduced for the first time since Independence. Now citizens will be able to lodge complaints outside of their police station area. Also, a provision for e-FIR has been added for the first time. These changes are going to expedite the process of seeking justice. The police will have to update the family of the person who has been arrested — both online and in person. 

4) Trial in absentia: It is a historic provision that has been introduced. If a person who is wilfully absent from court proceedings, and has been declared a fugitive by sessions court (for example: Dawood Ibrahim, Mehul Choksi, etc.) will be subject to trial and sentence in their absence.

5) Sexual crimes: Under the new penal code, sex on the pretext of the false promise of marriage, employment, promotion and false identity has been made a crime. In all cases of gang rape, a provision of 20 years of punishment or life imprisonment has been introduced. Provision of death sentence in case of rape of a minor has been introduced. 

Under the proposed laws, it has been made mandatory for the police to give the status of the complaint in 90 days and thereafter every 15 days, to the complainant in cases of sexual harassment. 

6) Mob lynching and fake news: For mob lynching, provisions of 7 years of imprisonment, life imprisonment and death penalty have been kept.

Spreading fake news with the potential to jeopardize sovereignty and internal security has been made a criminal offense with a maximum of three years of imprisonment.

7) Terrorism and sedition: For the first time, ‘terrorism’ has been defined as any act threatening the unity, integrity and security of India and any act to intimidate the general public or to disturb public order by using a range of lethal weapons and any other life-endangering substance. 

The government has repealed the controversial sedition law which has been replaced by a section that has provisions for punishment for an act of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.

8) Organised crime: A new penal section has been added related to organised crime. This section penalizes any unlawful activity by a member of a crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate by use of violence, coercion or other lawful means to accrue direct or indirect material and financial gains. Provision for attachment of property of known offenders has also been added.

Apart from these, the Bills have also introduced provisions for community service as punishment for petty crimes, for mobile and chain snatching from women. Bribe for vote during elections will be a punishable offence. 

Also, fines have either been increased or added to many offences as a part of the punishment and the definition of ‘document’ has been extended to include electronic or digital records, e-mails, server logs, computers, smartphones, laptops, SMS, websites, locational evidence, emails, messages on devices.

Expected outcomes

With the number of backlog cases in the Indian courts crossing six lakhs, the legal reforms that have been initiated by the Modi government will have a positive impact because of their time-bounded nature. The extension of the scope of summary trials has potential to end 40 per cent cases pending in sessions courts. The reforms have the potential to clean the currently overburdened and choked criminal justice system. 

However, any change comes with certain challenges. The primary challenge that will emerge after the Bills become law will be in the area of dealing with already pending cases as to how they will be dealt with, in the context of revamped IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act. 

(Dr. Bijayani Mishra is an assistant professor in the department of sociology, University of Delhi. Harsh Vardhan is a doctoral candidate in the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU.)

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