Draft reports to be adopted today to replace colonial criminal laws

A Parliamentary Committee tasked with reviewing three bills aimed at replacing the current criminal laws will meet on Monday to adopt draft reports. This comes shortly after certain opposition members had requested an extension for the panel to scrutinise the measures in more detail.

On October 27, the standing committee on Home was unable to approve the three draft reports as some Opposition members insisted on additional time for examination. Several Opposition members had urged the panel’s chairperson, Brij Lal, to request a three-month extension of its tenure and refrain from rushing the bills for short-term political advantage.

To create robust legislation that serves marginalised communities, the committee should refrain from finalising a report in the next few days or in November. An Opposition MP expressed this view in a communication, according to sources within the opposition.

However, sources within the BJP stated that the committee has engaged in an extensive consultation process and will meet its three-month deadline. The committee is set to convene on November 6, as per the notice sent to its members for the adoption of the three draft reports.

Sources indicate that the panel may proceed with adopting the draft reports despite objections from some of its members representing opposition parties. Seeking a comprehensive overhaul of colonial-era criminal laws, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session. These bills aim to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, respectively.

The House subsequently referred the bills to the committee for scrutiny and instructed it to submit its report within three months. Sources have suggested that the committee is likely to recommend a series of amendments to the three bills while retaining their Hindi names. This decision is being strongly contested by opposition MPs, including those from the DMK, who have called for English names for the proposed laws as well.