Criminal Law Bills To Be Taken Up In Rajya Sabha, CEC Bills In Lok Sabha Today Amid Suspension Row

The three criminal justice Bills that were passed in Lok Sabha on Wednesday will be taken up for consideration and passage in Raya Sabha today.

The three criminal justice bills will be tabled in Rajya Sabha today.

Source : PTI

The Parliament will see discussion on some important bills in its final stretch of the winter session which is scheduled to conclude on Friday. The bills will be tabled in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha amid empty benches on the opposition faction as this year’s winter session saw maximum, 143 suspensions of MPs, the highest in the history of Indian Parliament. 

The three criminal justice bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill — that were passed in Lok Sabha on Wednesday will be taken up for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. 

The three bills seek to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1898; and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.

Telecommunications Bill, 2023 — passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday — will also be tabled in Rajya Sabha on Thursday for consideration and passage. The bill seeks to amend and consolidate the law relating to the development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and telecommunication networks, and assignment of the spectrum. 

Introducing the bills in Lok Sabha, Union home minister Amit Shah said that full implementation of these legislations will make the Indian judicial system the most modern justice system in the world. 

For Thursday, two Bills are scheduled for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha: The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 and The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023.

The first Bill proposes to regulate the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners by constituting a three-member selection committee. This committee will include the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and a Cabinet Minister.

The second Bill aims to replace the existing Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867, under which the registration of print and publishing industry takes place in the country.