BREAKING NEWS: New Criminal Laws Replacing IPC, CrPC & Evidence Act Effective July 1, 2024

The Union Government has announced that the new criminal laws - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam - will be enforced starting July 1, 2024.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued three notifications today specifying the commencement date of these laws. Concurrently, the Centre has deferred the implementation of Sub Section (2) of Section 106 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to 'causing death of a person by rash and negligent driving of a vehicle'.

This decision comes in response to widespread protests by truckers against this provision.

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Overview of the New Criminal Laws

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 1st day of July, 2024 as the date on which the provisions of the said Sanhita, except the provision of sub-section (2) of section 106, shall come into force," stated the MHA notification.

These laws, which replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, were ratified by the Parliament on December 21, 2023, and received the President's assent on December 25, 2023. However, they stipulated that their enforcement would commence only from the date determined by the Union Government.

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The Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 were approved by Parliament on December 21 of the previous year.

They were officially enacted into law after receiving assent from President Droupadi Murmu on December 25 of the same year. These statutes will supersede the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and the IPC.

According to experts, the introduction of these three new laws will lead to more stringent penalties for acts of terrorism, lynching, and offenses threatening national security.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 20 new offenses have been incorporated, while 19 provisions from the IPC have been removed. Additionally, the punishment of imprisonment has been heightened in 33 offenses.

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