The text of the three criminal laws may have been changed but the real test lies with reforms of the criminal justice administration and expecting the new laws to function from the first day is not feasible, said G.S. Bajpai, who headed the first committee set up by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2020 to examine the laws.
Mr. Bajpai told The Hindu that the lower judiciary was stressed and there was huge pendency of cases, and it was unrealistic to expect that the new laws would function immediately.
“The Indian Penal Code evolved in more than 100 years till it was scrapped in 2023. Expecting these laws to kick off from first day is not feasible, and the effects of their implementation will be known in 6-12 months,” Mr. Bajpai said, adding that 70% text of the old laws had been retained in the new laws.
According to the National Judicial Data Grid, as on Tuesday, there were 3.4 crore cases pending in district courts across India, out of which nearly 1 crore cases were pending for more than a year.
Watch: What are the three new criminal laws?
From July 1, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. The laws were passed by the Parliament last year.
Implementation panel
Mr. Bajpai said he had written to the Law Ministry to constitute a National Implementation Committee to enable sharing of information and challenges pertaining to the new laws as they were implemented.
“A dashboard can be created where all stakeholders can upload the challenges and issues being faced during implementation of the laws,” he said.
The BNSS mandates audio-video recording of search and seizure in each criminal case and forensic examination in all crimes punishable by more than seven years. All such records will have to be submitted before the court in electronic format “without delay.” Under the BNSS, the courts will have to frame charges within 60 days of the first hearing and deliver the judgment within 30-45 days from the date of completion of arguments.
“Theoretically, the police will have to record everything. What will be the total range of issues while recording will be known in a few days,” he said.
Mr. Bajpai was the convener of the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws set up by the Ministry.
“The reforms have been made to the criminal laws but not to the criminal justice administration. The operational aspects rest with the criminal justice system,” Mr. Bajpai said.
“The human resources available with judiciary compared to the number of cases that are pending are too low. Now the cases will be tried under the new laws and the judiciary does not have the futuristic planning to cope with the pressure,” he added.
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Mr. Bajpai said States would play a key role in upgrading the infrastructure and resources in courts. “End of the day, it [upgrading the judicial courts] is a State subject. If the States do not upgrade, it [the implementation of the criminal laws] will be a distant dream,” he said.
On allegations by the Opposition parties that the laws are draconian in nature, Mr. Bajpai said, “curbing liberty issues is not unknown to the IPC.”
