Criminal laws framed to ensure citizens' rights protected, criminals don't escape: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday termed the enactment of three new criminal laws as the biggest reform in Independent India and said the Narendra Modi government framed them in such a way that all rights of citizens are protected and no criminal goes unpunished.

Addressing an event marking one year of the rolling out of the three criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), Shah said these laws are going to transform the criminal justice system in the country significantly.

"I assure all the citizens of India that it will take a maximum of three years for the full implementation of the new laws. I can also confidently say that anyone can get justice up to the Supreme Court within three years of filing an FIR," he said.

The BNS, BNSS and the BSA replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively. The new laws came into effect on July 1, 2024.

The home minister termed the three laws as the biggest reform of Independent India and said that the use of technology will ensure that no criminal can escape punishment after committing a crime.

He said justice will definitely be delivered within a stipulated time.

"The Narendra Modi government, your chosen government, has made the laws for you and it will protect all your rights," he said.

Since July 1, 2024, all fresh FIRs were registered under the BNS. However, cases filed earlier continued to be tried under the old laws till their final disposal.

The new laws brought in a modern justice system, incorporating provisions such as Zero FIR, online registration of police complaints, summonses through electronic modes such as SMS and mandatory videography of crime scenes for all heinous crimes.

These laws have taken into account the current social realities and modern-day crimes and are going to provide a mechanism to effectively deal with these, keeping in view the ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

Shah, who piloted the laws, said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action. PTI ACB RT