New Delhi: The Congress has demanded that the central government put in abeyance the implementation of the three criminal laws that are set to replace the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 from July 1.
The Congress demand comes in the wake of similar demands being made by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the issue is expected to lead to a stormy scene in the upcoming session of Parliament, especially as all these parties have won a significant number of seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
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Jairam Ramesh’s Statements
The new laws – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 – were "bulldozed through Parliament without proper debate and discussion" when 146 MPs had been suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh contended on Saturday.
They were similarly "bulldozed through the Standing Committee on Home Affairs without detailed interactions with stakeholders across the country".
The government had also ignored the written and very detailed dissent notes of a number of MPs of various political parties, including the Congress, who were members of the Standing Committee, Congress leader alleged.
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The implementation of the new laws, which were accorded assent by the President on December 25, 2023, and are to be implemented from July 1, should be deferred "to enable a thorough review and re-examination by the reconstituted Standing Committee on Home Affairs", he said.
About The Issue
The issue was first raised by DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin four days ago when he wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a review of the new enactments that also changed the names of the three criminal laws.
"The replacement of the three Acts has been done in haste without adequate deliberations and consultations," Stalin contended.
As the enactments fell within the concurrent list of the Constitution, "extensive consultation ought to have been done" with state governments but they were "not given adequate time to express their views", he said.
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