The three new criminal laws -Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will take effect nationwide starting today
NEW DELHI: The three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will take effect nationwide starting today. These laws will replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively, from the colonial era.
The new laws aim to modernize the justice system, introducing provisions such as Zero FIR, online registration of police complaints, electronic summons via SMS, and mandatory videography of crime scenes for all serious crimes.
In January this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the enactment of these three criminal laws a significant change in the criminal justice system. He stressed that the new laws embody the principles of ‘citizen first, honour first, and justice first,’ urging the police to rely on ‘data’ instead of ‘danda’ (baton).
Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs has initiated various measures to ensure effective implementation and raise awareness among all stakeholders, including police, prisons, prosecutors, judicial, forensic personnel, and the general public, following the notification of the three new criminal laws on December 25, 2023.
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Here are the details of these initiatives:
TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADATION
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
- Twenty-three functional modifications were made to the existing CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) application to ensure compatibility with the new criminal laws, including FIR filing.
- Technical support is being provided to States/Union Territories for a seamless transition to the new system.
- Support teams and call centers have been set up for continuous review and assistance to States/UTs in implementing the new laws.
- C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) is developing the CCTNS 2.0 application, featuring secure cloud storage, crime scene videography, and forensic evidence collection.
- On March 14, 2024, a mobile app web application called NCRB Compendium of Criminal Laws was launched, available on NCRB, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), iGot websites, Google Play Store, and iOS, currently with about 1.2 lakh users.
National Informatics Centre (NIC)
- e-Sakshaya, Nyayashruti, and e-Summon apps were developed to facilitate videography and photography of crime scenes, judicial hearings, and electronic service of court summons under the new laws.
- The e-Sakshaya app, facilitating crime scene videography, photography, and document onboarding, has been shared with police departments in all States and Union Territories. All States/UTs have tested the app.
- The Nyaysruti App, facilitating judicial hearings and document onboarding through electronic mode, has been shared with all States/UTs and with the Supreme Court’s e-Committee for court implementation.
- The e-Summon App facilitates electronic service of court summons.
- Necessary changes have been made in CCTNS, e-Prison, e-Prosecution, and e-Forensic Apps as per the new laws.
CAPACITY BUILDING
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)
- Thirteen training modules were developed for capacity building of stakeholders such as police, prisons, prosecutors, judicial officers, forensic experts, and central police organizations.
- A ‘Training of Trainers’ model was adopted for training master trainers of all States/UTs through the Central Academy of Police Training (CAPT), Bhopal, and Central Intelligence Training Institutes (CDTI) in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ghaziabad, and Bengaluru.
- So far, 250 training courses/webinars/seminars have been organized, training 40,317 officers/personnel.
- States/UTs have also conducted capacity building for 5,84,174 officers, including 5,65,746 police officers and prison, forensic, judicial, and prosecution personnel, in collaboration with BPR&D.
- Control rooms have been set up with teams of law and police officers to address queries and issues raised by field personnel during the implementation of the new laws.
- The Higher Education Department: University Grants Commission (UGC) distributed informational flyers to 1,200 universities and 40,000 colleges, and AICTE contacted about 9,000 institutions to raise awareness among teachers and students about the three laws. Information has been received from 114 higher education institutions.
- Department of Legal Affairs: Five conferences have been planned for all states. Four conferences have been held in state capitals, attended by representatives from various fields including the Chief Justice of India, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, police personnel, and subject experts.
iGOT-KARMAYOGI BHARAT
- Three courses [introduction to BNS (52 min 42 sec), BNSS (1 hr 22 min), and BSA (15 min 38 sec)] are available as a curated program on iGot from February 21, 2024. iGOT is a comprehensive government platform for guiding civil service officials in their capacity-building journey.
- Overall status of courses: 2,17,985 officers enrolled in all three courses, 1,87,046 officers completed at least one course, and 1,53,037 officers completed all three courses.
- These courses are also included in the proficiency program for IAS trainees under Phase 1 on iGOT.
- On May 17, 2024, BPR&D uploaded three new courses [Overview of BNS (1 hour 22 min), BNSS (1 hour 38 min), and BSA (1 hour 14 min)] on iGot for field practitioners.
- On June 6, the Union Home Secretary wrote to the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs to encourage all officers of police, prisons, judiciary, forensic, and public prosecutors to take courses on the new criminal laws.
PUBLICITY AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
- BPR&D is coordinating a group of ministries for a coordinated publicity campaign.
- Thematic posters and flyers were prepared and shared with all concerned departments.
- Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Press Information Bureau:
- Wide publicity of the new laws on social media platforms through advisories, press releases, infographics, etc.
- Posting content on social media platforms of ministries for wide publicity.
- Dialogue workshops were organized in 20 state capitals for regional media personnel to discuss the benefits of the new laws. These dialogues gained wide traction with full participation of regional media and are also being organized in the remaining 12 state capitals.
- All India Radio/Doordarshan:
- Covered events/activities on the new laws through news bulletins, programs, discussions, and social media platforms.
- Organized special in-depth discussion programs regularly with subject experts, representatives of various political parties, and journalists.
- Posted explanatory videos about the new laws between programs.
- MyGov:
- Uploaded informative flyers on the Transforming India website and disseminated these links through all MyGov social media handles.
- Disseminated information through e-Sampark, sending emails to a contact database of over 7 crore people on February 19.
- Conducted a quiz on the MyGov platform on March 14, 2024, to spread awareness. By March 27, 15,830 users participated in the quiz, and the top 20 winners were announced on April 9.
- An essay writing competition is proposed to be conducted. The best entries (selected through a jury panel) will be awarded and posted on the social media handles of the Ministry and MyGov.
INCLUSION IN CURRICULUM/TRAINING PROGRAMMES
- The Bar Council of India has made it mandatory to include the three new criminal laws in the curriculum of universities and legal education centers from the academic year 2024-25 (starting May 20, 2024).
- The School Education Department: NCERT plans to introduce the new laws in different stages of school education — for Classes 6-7 by October 2024 and for Classes 9-10 by January 2025.
REVIEW MEETINGS
- The Home Secretary held nine review meetings with various ministries and departments for the publicity campaign, training, and capacity building.
- The Home Secretary also held five review meetings with Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of States/UTs to prepare a time-bound roadmap for successful implementation of the laws.
- States and UTs are fully prepared in terms of technology, capacity building, and awareness generation to implement the new criminal laws from July 1.
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PROPOSED EVENTS FOR JULY 1
- UGC, AICTE, CFIs, and all Higher Education Institutions in States/UTs will organize a day of activities on July 1, including Group Discussions, Workshops, Seminars, Q&A Sessions, and Quizzes on the new criminal laws to highlight the major transformation aimed at achieving the goals of justice with wide participation of students, faculty, and other staff.
- With the commencement of these three criminal laws, an event will be organized by the Officer-in-Charge of each Police Station in all States/UTs to highlight the key features of the new laws. The program, held at the Police Station or any suitable location, will be attended by women, youth, students, senior citizens, retired police officers, eminent persons, members of self-help groups, Anganwadi Centres, local peace committees, and educational institutions like schools and colleges.
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