The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to issue a notice directing the immediate formation of an expert committee to assess the viability of these three new amended criminal laws.
New Delhi: Today (On June 27th): A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court against the newly amended criminal law bills: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023.
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The petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to issue a notice directing the immediate formation of an expert committee to assess the viability of these three new amended criminal laws.
These laws aim to overhaul the country’s criminal laws, replacing the Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The petition seeks to stay the operation and implementation of these new laws.
The PIL, filed by Anjali Patel and Chhaya through advocates Sanjeev Malhotra and Kunwar Siddhartha, argues that the proposed bills have many defects and discrepancies.
According to the plea, the proposed bills contain numerous defects and discrepancies.
“The previously proposed bills were withdrawn and replaced with new versions containing some changes. These new bills were passed by Parliament on December 21, 2023, and published in the Gazette on December 25, 2023, thereby becoming law,” the plea stated.
“For the first time, changes of this magnitude are being made to criminal laws. It is claimed that the old colonial laws have been reformed. However, the main symbol of colonial rule, the police system, which has persisted since British times, still needs reforms,”
the petition noted.
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The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita retains most offences from the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and introduces community service as a form of punishment. Sedition is no longer an offence; instead, there is a new offence for acts that endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita also adds terrorism as an offence, defining it as an act intended to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of the country, intimidate the general public, or disturb public order. Organised crime, including crimes such as kidnapping, extortion, and cyber-crime committed on behalf of a crime syndicate, has been added as an offence. Petty organised crime is now also an offence. Furthermore, murder by a group of five or more persons based on identity markers such as caste, language, or personal belief will be punishable with seven years to life imprisonment or death,”
the plea explained.
The petition highlights that significant changes have been made to the criminal laws for the first time at such a level, ostensibly to replace the old colonial laws. However, it points out that the colonial-era police system remains unchanged and in need of reform.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita retains most offences from the Indian Penal Code, 1860, but introduces community service as a form of punishment and removes sedition as an offence, replacing it with a new offence for acts endangering India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. It also adds terrorism and organised crime, including cyber-crime, as new offences, and introduces severe penalties for murder by groups on grounds of identity markers such as caste or language.
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The plea also raises concerns about the new laws allowing up to 15 days of police custody, which can be authorised incrementally during the initial 40 or 60 days of judicial custody. This, it argues, may lead to denial of bail for the entire period if the police do not exhaust the 15 days of custody.
Furthermore, the petition cites irregularities in the passing of the bills in Parliament, noting that many members were suspended, resulting in minimal participation and no substantial debate on the elements of the bills.
View PIL Copy
