Think, Then Act – Proposed criminal codes need serious deliberation

Source: The post is based on the article “Think, Then Act – Proposed criminal codes need serious deliberation” published in The Times of India on 12^th August 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.

Relevance: Issues with three bills that aim to replace IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act.

News: Recently, three bills, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 have been introduced in the Parliament that aim to replace IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act.

What are the concerns with the Bill?

1. Despite claims of repeal, offences like sedition still persist under a different chapter.
2. The inclusion of a separate provision for mob lynching where the punishment for a mob could involve death, creates a perplex situation.
3. Marital rape is still not criminalized.
4. Criminal defamation still remains in the Bill.
5. Requiring forensic teams to visit crime scenes for serious offenses seems unrealistic due to the existing backlogs even in metropolitan labs.

What can be the way ahead?

No drafts were released in the public domain before the Union home minister introduced the bills in Lok Sabha. The reforms committee which worked on these bills also lacked transparency.

Hence, instead of rushing there are various shortcomings that need to be addressed. The parliamentary standing committee, to which the bills have now been sent, must look into these issues.