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The Centre on Friday moved bills to revamp and replaced three colonial-era laws which currently serve as the backbone of the criminal justice system in the country. These are the codes that stand to be replaced with new ones - The Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act (IEA).
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 will replace the IPC, while Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 will make way for the CrPC and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 for the Indian Evidence Act.
Let's glance through these proposed bills and examine how they will impact the common citizens of the country:
The good
1. Zero FIR: With the new bill, the registration of First Information Report (FIR) in any police station will be valid, irrespective of where the crime was committed in the state, reported India Today. However, the FIR must be registered in the same state or Union Territory. The new also allows citizens to file e-FIRs. Here, the complainant has to sign on the FIR within three days of filing it online.
2. Protection from arrest: The proposed bill safeguards one from arrests in cases of petty crimes, especially those who are physically incapable, or are senior citizens. For crimes that attract jail term of less than three years, no arrests can be made without the permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
3. Quick justice: The court overseeing proceedings has 60 days to start the trial once the chargesheet is filed by the cops. After the trial is finished, the judge has to pronounce the verdict within 30 days. Once that's done, the judgment copy should be uploaded online within seven days. However, in certain cases, the judgment time can extend to 60 days as well.
4. Witness protection: A much-needed witness protection provision has been taken care of in the proposed bill. Under the new bill, the state government is bound to protect witnesses by formulating a scheme.
5. 10 years' jail for hit-and-run cases: The prison term for hit-and-run cases resulting in death has been extended to 10 years if the accused fails to report the accident to the cops or a magistrate.
The bad
1. Extended police custody: Currently, an arrested person can be sent to police custody only for a maximum period of 15 days from the date of arrest. However, in the proposed bill, the cops have received a shot in the arm, wherein they can now seek custody of the individual at any time within 60-90 days of the arrest, depending upon the seriousness of the offence.
2. No breather for bail-seekers: There is no relief for individuals when it comes to bail granting through a proper means of law. In the proposed law, no new avenues for default bail have been mentioned, except for undertrials who have at least served half their sentence.
3. Trial in absence of accused: An accused, who may be absconding or absent during the trial, can be sentenced and convicted on the assumption that he/she has waived their right to a fair trial. As per the proposed bill, the court can proceed with the trial if the accused has not appeared before it post 90 days of framing of the charges.
4. Seizure of electronic and digital evidence: The new bill seeks to explicitly allow cops to seize laptops, phones etc during an investigation. With the changes in the Evidence Act, digital and electronic records can be produced as evidence before the court. This will give it the same legal effect as physical evidence. Location details, emails, server logs, messages etc., can all be included as evidence before the court.
5. 'Proceeds for crime' now under IPC: The bill seeks to give the police the power to attach any property which they deem to be "proceeds of the crime". The police can attach properties that they believe is/was obtained via any criminal activity.