Supreme Court To Hear PIL Challenging Three New Criminal Laws Tomorrow

The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a public interest litigation filed against the three new criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

A PIL was filed in Supreme Court against the three criminal laws saying that they were passed and enacted without any parliamentary debate

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The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the three new criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replacing the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal will hear the matter tomorrow (May 20). The PIL contends that the three new criminal laws suffer from many defects and discrepancies.

In January, Advocate Vishal Tiwari had filed a PIL in the top court against the three criminal laws saying that they were passed and enacted without any parliamentary debate as most of the members were under suspension during the period.

The PIL further terms the changes brought about through the three new criminal laws as draconian and contends that they seek to establish police state in reality. The plea further states that these laws violate fundamental rights of the people of India.

In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court observed that Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) reproduced Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) verbatim without any change. The top court urged the Centre and Parliament to make necessary changes in the new criminal code while considering pragmatic realities. 

The said section deals with providing punishment to the husband and his family for inflicting any cruelty on a married woman.

The three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act respectively, and will come into force from 1st July this year.