'Bulldozer justice...': Congress slams Centre over new criminal laws
What's the story
With the three new criminal laws taking effect on Monday, the Congress slammed the Narendra Modi government for "bulldozing" existing laws and replacing them with new bills without adequate debate.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on X that the new laws were "forcibly passed" by suspending 146 MPs.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also accused the government of "bulldozing" the laws, adding in his X post that "90-99% of the so-called new laws are a cut, copy, and paste job."
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam have replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
They introduce modern provisions like Zero FIR, online police complaint registration, electronic summonses via SMS, and mandatory videography of crime scenes for heinous crimes.
However, their implementation has sparked concerns among the legal community. Union Minister Amit Shah has maintained that these laws aim to prioritize delivery of justice.
Parliamentary proceedings
Criminal laws passed in absence of opposition
"Modi ji...pretending to respect the Constitution...the three laws...were forcibly passed by suspending 146 MPs. INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance] will no longer allow this "Bulldozer Justice" to run on the Parliamentary system," Kharge added.
His comments refer to the Winter Session of Parliament, during which nearly two-thirds of opposition MPs were suspended in both Houses.
This mass suspension occurred amidst protests against a Parliament security breach.The new criminal laws were subsequently passed virtually without any opposition present.
Twitter Post
Read Kharge's post here
चुनाव में राजनीतिक व नैतिक झटके के बाद मोदी जी और भाजपा वाले संविधान का आदर करने का ख़ूब दिखावा कर रहें हैं, पर सच तो ये है कि आज से जो आपराधिक न्याय प्रणाली के तीन क़ानून लागू हो रहे हैं, वो 146 सांसदों को सस्पेंड कर जबरन पारित किए गए।
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 1, 2024
INDIA अब ये “बुलडोज़र न्याय” संसदीय…
Statement
Standing committee dissent on new laws ignored: Chidambaram
In his criticism, former Home Minister Chidambaram said, "There are a few improvements in the new laws and we have welcomed them. They could have been introduced as amendments....There are several retrograde provisions. Some changes are...unconstitutional."
MPs from the standing committee scrutinized the provisions and submitted detailed dissent notes on the three bills, he said.
Chidambaram added that the government did not address the criticisms in these notes and there was no debate in the Parliament.
Twitter Post
Chidamabaram's criticism of the 3 criminal laws
The three criminal laws to replace the IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act come into force today
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 1, 2024
90-99 per cent of the so-called new laws are a cut, copy and paste job. A task that could have been completed with a few amendments to the existing three laws has been turned into a…
Background
'Laws made by Indians, for Indians...': Amit Shah
Separately, Union Minister Shah, who led the law revision exercise, has said that these laws are "made by Indians, for Indians and by an Indian Parliament and marks the end of colonial criminal justice laws."
He also said that these laws were not just about changing the nomenclature but bringing about an overhaul. "Soul, body and spirit of the new laws is Indian."
Shah added that unlike the colonial laws focused on punishment, these laws prioritize justice.