The central government abolished the existing penal and criminal laws from July 1 and enacted new laws in their place.
In this regard, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice-Ameer Professor Salim Engineer expressed concern and said that “The government has changed the criminal law ‘Indian Penal Code’ (IPC) and ‘Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)’. It has been decided to implement the new laws ‘Indian Justice Code’ (BNS) and ‘Indian Civil Security Code’ (BNSS) from July 1, 2024. This means that cases filed before July 1, 2024 will be dealt with under the old law, while cases filed after that will come under the new law. That is, there will be two parallel systems for criminal cases. This will create complexities in the legal process and increase the burden on the judiciary, which is already burdened with a large number of cases. This will create confusion and delay in getting justice. Therefore, the Jamaat wants that the existing laws (IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act) should be amended to remove the loopholes and implement them, which will be better than remaking any law.”
Professor Salim said, “There are many problems with these new laws. They were approved in a very controversial manner. This approval came at a time when a large number of opposition MPs were suspended in December 2023. Meanwhile, they were approved after a nominal debate. We support any positive effort to change colonial laws, but the basic thing is that we cannot end real colonialism without making the police and security agencies accountable to the citizens.
Citing an example, Professor Saleem said, ‘Although the government claims to have abolished the old sedition law, a new and stringent section ‘Section 152 of BNS’ has been introduced in its place. This new section, which replaces the old law under the guise of security concerns, affects the freedom of dissent and expression. There is no provision to hold police officers accountable for filing false cases. Under the new law, filing FIRs for crimes punishable with 3 to 7 years of imprisonment has been left to the discretion of the police. This will encourage corruption and may make it difficult for backward classes to file FIRs.’ The police can now seek custody for up to 15 days at any time during a period of 60 to 90 days. Police detention for such a long time may lead to abuse of power leading to loss of civil liberties. Similarly, the said effort to digitise the justice system (FIRs, judgements, etc.) by 2027 is a laudable step, but this move is likely to create difficulties for the poor and marginalised sections who do not have access to technology and the internet.
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