New criminal laws to prioritise justice instead of punishment: Amit Shah 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that it would take up to three-four years for the “entire process” and relevant “technical aspects” of the three criminal laws to become fully applicable.

After the entire process was implemented, a person would get justice even from the Supreme Court within three years of registration of the First Information Report (FIR).

Mr. Shah said the new laws would prioritise justice instead of punishment.

The Home Minister said the three laws were available in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which included Tamil, and the court proceedings would also take place in those languages.

“The laws have been translated to Tamil and the proceedings will also take place in Tamil. Neither the [Tamil Nadu] Chief Minister, nor the members of parliament have asked time for a discussion regarding their opposition to the names of laws. I want to appeal again. If you have any grievances, meet me. Boycotting laws is not the right path, there are other ways to do politics,” Mr. Shah said on being asked about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin’s objections to the laws.

On June 18, Mr. Stalin wrote to Mr. Shah to keep the laws in abeyance stating that the naming of the laws (in Sanskrit) is clearly violative of the Article 348. Mr. Shah asserted that the total duration of police custody remained 15 days and it had not been extended up to 60 days. “The total remand will be 15 days but will have to be secured within 60 days [of arrest], can be taken in parts. Earlier, if an accused was sent to police remand and he got himself admitted to a hospital for 15 days then there was no interrogation as his remand period used to expire,” Mr. Shah said.

The first case

He said the first case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh regarding a motorcycle theft worth ₹1.8 lakh.

Mr. Shah said the case against a street vendor in Delhi had been struck down.

The Home Minister made it clear that the BNS, which came into force on Monday, had the provision of maximum 15-day police custody like the erstwhile IPC and dispelled confusion that the remand period had been extended.

Regarding the missing Section on penal provisions for sexual crimes against men and transgender persons, Mr. Shah said, “there is a Supreme Court judgment on this, it is a matter of interpretation. We will discuss with the Supreme Court.”

The Home MInister said there was a “leak-proof” system to store data and accountability had been fixed for those who record the videos and upload the data.

The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) mandated compulsory audio-video recording of search and seizure in each criminal case and mandatory forensic examination in all cases where an offence attracted punishment of seven years or more. The recordings would have to be submitted before the court electronically “without delay.”

Extensive discussions

Addressing a press conference, the Minister said various misconceptions were being spread about the new criminal laws, which aimed to create confusion in the minds of public about these laws. He said every aspect of the new laws had been discussed extensively with different stakeholders for four years and no law in independent India had been discussed at such length.

“Many disputed provisions which were continuing from the British time and were creating problems for the people have been removed and new Sections have been added which are of relevance today,” the Home Minister stated.

He said the crime on sedition, made by the British, had been abolished in the new laws. A new Section had been added for anti-national activities, under which there was a provision of severe punishment for those who damage the unity and integrity of India.

Mr. Shah said 99.9% police stations across the country had been computerised and the process of generating e-record was already started in 2019. He said that zero-FIR, e-FIR and charge sheet would be in a digital format.

He said forensic investigation was mandatory in offences punishable by seven years or more, which would help speed up justice and take the conviction rate up to 90%. Trained manpower would be required for this purpose and in the country, there would be more than 40,000 trained manpower after three years. The Home Minister said the Union Cabinet recently decided to set up campuses of Forensic Science University and establish six Central Forensic Laboratories in nine more States.