Criminal bills to make Indian judicial system most modern in world: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Full implementation of the proposed three new criminal laws will make the Indian judicial system the most modern justice system in the world, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

Shah said when the three bills -- the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill -- become law, an uniform justice system will come into effect throughout the country.

The three bills will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1898; and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.

"When the three laws are implemented fully, the Indian judicial system will be the most modern in the world," Shah said while replying to a debate on the bills in the Lok Sabha amid thumping of desks by NDA members.

The bills were later passed by the House by voice vote.

"We have made the legislations victim-centred while fixing the accountability of the police," Shah said. The home minister said directors of prosecution will now be appointed at the district and state levels to improve the criminal justice system.

Referring to terrorism, Shah said the Narendra Modi government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

"Such arrangements have been made in these new laws from which no terrorist will be able to escape," he said.

Shah said no matter what a person says against the government, if anyone plays with the country's flag, security and property, they will go to jail.

It has also been decided that charge sheets will now have to be filed in 180 days and the magistrate will have to take cognisance of it in 14 days, he said.

"I am astonished at how some people defend and save the lives of terrorists in the name of 'human rights'. Remember, this is neither the rule of Britishers nor of the Congress. This is Modi's rule," Shah said.

No arguments to save terrorists will be entertained here," Shah said and added that the Modi government has explicitly brought "terrorism" under the purview of the criminal justice system.

"We have changed the definition of sedition from 'rajdroh (offences against the government)' to 'deshdroh (offences against the nation)'," he said, noting the Indian Penal Code Section 124, or the Sedition Law, has been repealed.

The purpose of the new law is "not to save the government but to save the country. In a healthy democracy, everyone has the right to criticise the government but we will not allow anyone to say anything demeaning about India", Shah said. He said, taking a historic decision, the Modi government has completely removed the section of sedition and replaced it with treason.

For the first time, changes have been made in the three laws governing the nearly 150-year-old criminal justice system, concerning Indianness, the Indian Constitution and the people of India, the home minister said.

All provisions have been made in these laws to equip the country's judicial system by imagining the possible technological innovations that may take place in the next 100 years, he added.

Shah said mob lynching is a heinous crime and there is a provision for death penalty for it in these laws.

A good balance has been maintained between the rights of the police and the citizens, he said.

Shah said the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, which has 484 sections, will now have 531 sections. A total 177 sections have been changed, nine new added and 14 repealed.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which will replace the Indian Penal Code, will have 358 sections instead of the earlier 511.

As many as 21 new offences have been added in it, the term of imprisonment has been increased in 41 offences, the penalty increased in 82, mandatory minimum punishment introduced in 25 crimes, there are provisions of community service as a punishment in six crimes and 19 sections have been repealed.

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167 -- 24 sections have been amended, two new added and six repealed.

The home minister said a woman can lodge e-FIRs, cognisance of which will be taken and arrangements have been made to provide a reply at her home within two days.

Shah said technology will be used to stop the misuse of police powers. Importance has been given to its usage in all three stages of crime-scene, investigation and trial to ensure not only transparency and accountability in probes but improve the quality of evidence and help protect the rights of both the victim and the accused.

The victim can now go to any police station and lodge a zero FIR and it will have to be compulsorily transferred to the police station concerned within 24 hours. A police officer has been designated in every district and police station to prepare a list of the arrested people and inform their relatives, he said.