The Opposition launched an attack on the government on Monday as new criminal laws took effect, accusing it of forcing the legislation through Parliament by suspending MPs and dismissing significant sections of the laws as a “cut, copy, and paste job”.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), passed in Parliament last December, have faced intense criticism from Opposition leaders. They argue that these laws were rushed through without adequate discussion or debate.
“After the political and moral shock in the elections, Modi ji and the BJP are pretending to respect the Constitution, but the truth is that the three laws of the criminal justice system that are being implemented from today were forcibly passed by suspending 146 MPs,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X.
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“INDIA will no longer allow this ‘Bulldozer Justice’ to run on the Parliamentary system,” he wrote.
Kharge’s comments refer to the tumultuous Winter Session of Parliament, which saw the suspension of nearly two-thirds of opposition MPs in both houses amid protests over a Parliament security breach.
'Cut, copy and paste job'
Congress leader P Chidambaram accused the government of a lazy approach, stating that 90-99 per cent of the new laws are simply a “cut, copy and paste job” and that minor amendments to existing laws would have sufficed.
“Yes, there are a few improvements in the new laws and we have welcomed them. They could have been introduced as Amendments,” Chidambaram posted on X.
“On the other hand, there are several retrograde provisions. Some changes are prima facie unconstitutional,” he added.
Chidambaram also criticised the government for disregarding criticisms from MPs, legal scholars, and lawyers, and for failing to facilitate a meaningful debate in Parliament.
“It is another case of bulldozing three existing laws and replacing them with three new Bills without adequate discussion and debate. The initial impact will be to throw the administration of criminal justice into disarray,” he said.
'Soul of Indian Democracy is at stake'
Congress MP Manish Tewari called for Parliament to re-examine the new criminal laws, stating they pave the way for a police state.
NCP leader Supriya Sule echoed these concerns, stating the new laws pose a significant threat to civil liberties and democratic freedoms.
“By expanding police authority, extending remand periods, permitting solitary confinement, and diminishing judicial oversight, the NDA government is establishing a repressive police state. The soul of Indian Democracy is at stake and we cannot afford to be silent,” Sule mentioned on X.
Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose also voiced apprehensions about the new laws, describing them as “vaguely worded” and leaving “huge scope for the government to snatch away citizens’ lives and liberty.”
“The offence of ‘sedition’ has made a backdoor entry – dangerous. Terrorism has been defined for the 1st time and made a part of day-to-day criminal offences – VERY dangerous. Intrusion into privacy by making ‘deceit’ an offence on promises of marriage by a man to a woman,” Ghose said.
New criminal laws
The three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who championed the laws, asserted that the new legislation prioritises justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that emphasised penal action.
The new laws introduce a “modern justice system”, including provisions such as ‘Zero FIR’, online registration of police complaints, electronic summonses via SMS, and mandatory videography of crime scenes for all heinous crimes.
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