Parliament panel adopts report on criminal laws

The home affairs panel of Parliament has adopted its report on three new bills that will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code for Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act, paving the way for the passage of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Surakhsha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakhsya Sanhita in the upcoming winter session, functionaries said on Monday.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

With nearly 50 amendments being suggested by the panel, top officials indicated that in the winter session, new versions of the three proposed laws will be introduced and cleared.

“With a large number of amendments recommended by the panel, the government might prefer the three new codes incorporating the amendments. It would be easier for the passage of the bills instead of bringing a long list of amendments separately,” said an official.

Several Opposition members of the panel are set to give dissent notes on the bills replacing the IPC and the CrPC but the Evidence Bill is unlikely to see any opposition. “On the Evidence Bill, the panel has accepted most of our suggestions. Our focus is on the bills replacing the IPC and the CrPC,” said a senior opposition leader (from a party other than the Congress) after the meeting of the panel on Monday.