Amit Shah introduces amendment bills in Lok Sabha to replace existing criminal laws

The three new bills are the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023.

In his speech, while introducing the Bill, Shah said most of the amendments were grammatical corrections, with a few Sections in the laws being amended.

Shah said the Parliamentary panel has made several suggestions on the already introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.

Shah said the soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to the citizens.

Instead of moving different official amendments, the government has introduced new bills, he said.

On Monday, Shah notified Lok Sabha members that the three criminal law bills, intended to substitute British-era legislation, would be withdrawn and replaced with three new bills that would incorporate the improvements proposed by a parliamentary committee.

They are intended to replace the Indian Penal Code, of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Act, of 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, of 1872.

The government also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lower House. The Bill seeks to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for women.

It is intended to enable greater representation and participation of women as public representatives in law-making processes in the Union Territory.

The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Puducherry Assembly for women. The Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai introduced the two Bills.