The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 – Introduced in Parliament
Though it was on the cards but it was all about when!
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 shall be repealed soon. The bill was introduced in the Parliament by the Home Minister on 11th August 2023. The new bill is named as The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
It took everyone by surprise and shock for others. If certain groups have a reason to discuss about the use of “Bharatiya” in the name of the bill, others rued that the legacy left behind by the British will be a thing of the past soon. But in general the public is seems least bothered about the aims and objectives of repealing of the existing penal code with a new one.
If the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill is read the follow key reasons have been the cornerstone for introducing the Bill:
- i) to strengthen law and order and also focus on simplifying legal procedure so that ease of living is ensured to the common man.
- ii) to make existing laws relevant to the contemporary situation and provide speedy justice to common man.
The name “The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023” itself seems to have caused some confusion especially for those not well versed with textbook or formal Hindi terminologies. Once films and TV serials regularly refer to the Bill after it becomes an Act, maybe the names would be more familiar for easy reference.
Categories of offences covered under it include those affecting:
(i) human body such as assault and murder,
(ii) property such as extortion and theft,
(iii) public order such as unlawful assembly and rioting,
(iv) public health, safety, decency, morality, and religion,
(iv) defamation, and
(v) offences against the state.
There are 575 sections in the existing IPC but the Sanhita Bill has 356 sections. So, there are many sections which didn’t pass the hurdle or they got modified. In total the new Bill is lighter by 219 sections.
The Bill has now been referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs including the other two Bills. The Committee in 3 months shall carry out consultations and then submit their recommendations. Until then we wait for the day when the Bills are passed by both the Houses and the President assent to the Bill followed by the Gazette notification.