Now, for murder, Section 101 will be applied instead of 302. Section 420, which was famous for cheating, has now become 318. Rape is now section 63, not 375. Seducing a married woman is now a crime, while forced unnatural sex will no longer fall under the category of crime.
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These changes have come into effect from today, i.e. 1st July, due to the implementation of three new criminal laws across the country. In the new criminal laws, the laws related to violence against women, children and animals have been made stricter. Apart from this, many procedural changes have also been made, such as now you can register an e-FIR from home.
In Monday Mega Story, we will know important things related to the three new criminal laws implemented from today…
According to Supreme Court lawyer Virag Gupta, four problems can be seen due to the new criminal laws…
1. Judges will have to master two types of law
- Trial and appeal of all cases registered before June 30 will be done as per the old law. There are about 5.13 crore cases pending in the courts of the country, out of which about 3.59 crore i.e. 69.9% are criminal matters. These pending cases will be settled as per the old law.
- The new law emphasizes on speedy trial, appeal and decision of cases. Quick decision on new cases without decisions in old cases can bring new challenges in front of the judges.
- Apart from this, judges will have to master two types of laws on the same subject, which can lead to confusion and increase complexity in cases.
2. There will be double pressure on the police
- The new law will put the biggest burden on the police. They will need knowledge of the old law to plead in the courts in old cases, while the investigation of new cases will be done according to the new law.
- According to an analysis, more than three-fourths of the new laws are from the old law, but in an attempt to bring in newness, the order of the old sections of IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act has been unnecessarily changed in the new law. Due to this, confusion in the police will increase.
3. Responsibility and confusion of lawyers will increase
- Now lawyers will have to be aware of both types of laws. The new law has provisions for quick decision on cases, but without settling old cases, it will be difficult to decide new cases quickly. In such a situation, many types of pressures will increase on lawyers and judges from clients and litigants.
- Students studying law will now study the new law, but for this they will lack research material and case law. After joining the legal profession, they will have to acquire the knowledge of the old law afresh.
4. Police harassment of common people may increase
- Provisions such as increase in the period of police custody in the new laws may lead to increase in cases of police harassment and problems for common people.
- The district courts are under the control of the High Court, but the infrastructure, court rooms, salaries of judges etc. for the courts are managed by the state governments.
- Due to lack of infrastructure, recruitment of about 5,850 judges in district courts is not possible. Therefore, the success of the new laws will depend on the cooperation of the states.
Apart from this, there are 3 other big challenges in the way of new criminal laws…
- Many opposition-ruled states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka are opposing the implementation of the new law. These were hastily passed in Parliament in the absence of opposition MPs. According to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, these laws come under the Concurrent List, under which the states also have the right to make laws on these subjects and make changes in them. These laws will be implemented by the state police, so it will be difficult to implement them without the cooperation of the states.
- Provisions have been made in the new laws to digitize forensic investigations and conduct trials quickly. In such a situation, many states will face problems due to lack of necessary infrastructure. The Home Ministry has allocated about Rs 2,254 crore for infrastructure development, but it may take more than four years for this to start.
- In these laws, provision has been made to consider video recordings of crime scene, search, and seizure etc. and their digital evidence as valid. For this, the Home Ministry has released the e-evidence app, but at the local level, the police in the police stations lack basic facilities. Due to this, there may be many obstacles in the full implementation of the new law.
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Graphics: Ajit Singh
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References:
- Indian Justice Code, 2023 (New IPC)
- Indian Civil Defence Code, 2023 (New CrPC)
- Indian Evidence Act 2023 (New Evidence Act)
- Indian Penal Code, 1860
- New Criminal Laws Criminal Manual: Edited by Virag Gupta
