Come July 1, India will get three new criminal laws – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
The new laws, which will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively, will come into force from July 1, 2024, the Union Home Ministry said on Friday.
As per a gazette notification issued by the Ministry, Sub Section (2) of Section 106 of the BNS, which concerns ‘causing death of a person by rash and negligent driving of a vehicle’, has been put on hold for now.
The said proviso had invited protests in many parts of the country.
This was because it increases the maximum prison sentence to ten years for those involved in such offences who end up fleeing the scene of the crime, instead of reporting to the police or Magistrate.
On August 11, 2023, the Lok Sabha introduced three new bills – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill. They were referred to a parliamentary committee headed by Brij Lal for further examination.
The Lok Sabha passed the bills on December 20 and the Rajya Sabha passed them on December 21. The bills got the President assent also in December, 2023.