New criminal laws to mark transition from colonial legacies

Subhasish Mitra (Wide Angle)

Preparations are on to roll out the three new criminal laws across India from July 1. It will mark a transition from the colonial legacies towards a system of justice based on the principle of access to justice by all.

 

The home ministry said many new provisions, synchronised with modern-day times and contemporary technologies, were incorporated in the new criminal laws and their aim is to bring an era of ease of policing and ease of justice.

 

To speed up the process, the Centre has sought the help of all states to train the policemen for their effective implementation. The MHA has sent a missive to all the states and Union Territories in this regard.

 

The new laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act. These will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 respectively.

 

The new laws aim at providing speedy justice to the citizens of the country and will strengthen the judicial and court management system. "The new laws are a transition from the colonial legacies towards a system of justice, based on the principle of access to justice by all... it is the endeavour of the government of India to reach out to all ranks of police and prison officers in the country and make them aware of the positive and advanced changes so as to equip them with the basic knowledge and understanding of various new provisions, which will help them in implementing the same in right earnest and with confidence," the home ministry said in its communication.

 

To fulfil this objective, the home ministry is striving to educate the police and prison officers about the new laws. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), which is the premier training and research arm of the government, has developed the training of trainers' module and various other training programmes for different levels of police and prison personnel on the new criminal laws.

 

Integration has also been completed with 'Integrated Government Online Training' (iGOT) portal to make these courses available to police and prison personnel. These training modules have been shared by BPR&D with all states and UTs, enabling them to conduct training programmes in their police training institutes.

 

"To further augment and strengthen the exercise of educating our police and prison officers (of all ranks -- aiming at reaching the last person in the hierarchical ladder) about the new laws, we seek your active indulgence and involvement in this endeavour and request you to make appropriate arrangements in your state and UT for providing intensive training to all police and prison personnel without leaving anyone behind," the MHA said.

 

To further augment and strengthen the exercise of educating the police and the prison officers of all ranks about the new laws, the home ministry has sought the active indulgence and involvement of the state governments and UT administration in this endeavour and requested them to make appropriate arrangements in their respective state and UT for providing intensive training to all police and prison personnel without leaving anyone behind.

 

"You will appreciate that unless we equip all our officials with relevant information and knowledge, we will not be able to effectively implement the new laws," the note said, asking top state officials to personally review the training schedule of all ranks of police and prison personnel about the new laws and ensure that everyone receives adequate briefing about the same.