Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed members of the Lok Sabha on December 11 that the three criminal codes that seek to replace the British-era laws will be withdrawn and replaced with three new Bills after incorporating the changes recommended by a parliamentary committee. The three Bills, along with two other Bills on reservation for women in Assemblies of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry, are expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by Mr. Shah.
The three criminal codes — Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023 — that sought to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, respectively were introduced in the Parliament on August 11.
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The Bills were referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on August 18 for consideration.
“The Committee held several rounds of discussions with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, domain experts and various stakeholders and submitted its reports along with its recommendations on November 10,” Mr. Shah said in a note.
The note went on to that based on the recommendations of the Committee, amendments to the three Bills were proposed and so new Bills will be introduced in their place.
