Three new Criminal Laws to be implemented from July 1st

IPC and CrPC, which have been in effect since 1860, will become history

New Delhi – Last year on 11th August, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in Parliament – the Indian Code of Justice, the Indian Civil Protection Code, and the Indian Evidence Act. They were approved by both houses of Parliament in December and signed by President Droupadi Murmu on 25th December. The Union Government has now announced that these laws will come into effect from 1st July 2024. These three new laws will replace the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC (1860)), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC (1882)), and Indian Evidence Act (1872).

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that these laws would be implemented in the Union Territories in a phased manner.

Opportunity to get out of the British mentality

Home Minister Shah had said about these new laws that the new criminal laws would free the people of the country from the colonial mentality of the British era. All three previous criminal laws were made by the British. Since then, these laws have not been changed. Even after India became independent, we were still working according to English law. Due to these laws, we were still using terms like ‘Her Majesty’, ‘London Gazette’, ‘British Crown’ and ‘Barrister’.

Discussion on the provision of 10 years imprisonment for ‘hit and run’ crime

In January, some transport associations across the country protested against the provisions related to ‘hit and run’ in the new laws. If any person dies due to reckless or speeding driving and the driver flees from the spot, he/she will be liable for 10 years imprisonment and a heavy fine. After the transport associations blocked traffic across the country and staged a strong protest, the Union Government has assured that the provisions of this section will be finalised in consultation with the ‘All India Motor Transport Congress’. According to the current law, there is a provision for imprisonment of up to 2 years for the accused. The new law provides for this imprisonment to be increased to a maximum of 10 years.