Parliamentary Committee Adopts Amendments to Replace Colonial-Era Laws Amid Dissent

NEW DELHI: Amid the dissent notes given by  many Opposition members, the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs that was examining the three bills, which seek to replace as many “colonial” era laws, on Monday adopted its draft report offering a slew of amendments but sticking to their Hindi names, with nearly 10 Opposition members likely to submit dissent notes.

Congress member of the panel P. Chidambaram spoke at length at the meeting offering a host of suggestions, including that the committee should define community service and what it envisages, and sought three instead of two days for members to file dissent notes, sources said, adding that the panel had stuck to the deadline of 48 hours.

While some Opposition members such as Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary have already submitted their dissent notes, a few others are likely to submit in the next two days.

According to sources, the committee has stuck to the Hindi names given to the bills and ignored suggestions from some Opposition members, including Dayanidhi Maran, that they should have English versions too.

Some more Opposition members were expected to submit dissent notes in the next two days as per the rules, sources said.

On October 27, the standing committee on home could not adopt the three draft reports as some Opposition members pressed for more time to study them. Home minister Amit Shah had introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 bills in the Lok Sabha on August 11 during the Monsoon Session.

They are meant to replace the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 and were sent to the committee for scrutiny with a three-month deadline.

While tabling the three draft bills, Mr Shah had described the current set of laws guiding criminal jurisprudence as a colonial legacy, a reference to their British Raj provenance, and asserted that they focused only on punishment while the proposed laws give primacy to justice.

The 30-member committee is headed by BJP MP Brij Lal.

The committee has recommended taking a more stringent view of deaths caused by negligence amid criticism that the current statute is too lenient, the sources said.

The parliamentary panel has also proposed a reduction in sentence for those convicted of deterring public servants from discharging their duties.

The sources said Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code provides for a maximum of two years in jail and the committee may seek to slash it to one year. The law is often used against those staging protests and many members of the committee are of the view that most protesters should be dealt with leniently.

It has also been reported that the committee has backed a gender-neutral adultery law and punitive measures for non-consensual sex between men, women and transgender people, among other recommendations.