Why in News?

• The Central government has introduced three new Bills in the Lok Sabha that propose a complete overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system.
• The three Bills are set to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
• The Bills — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, to replace the IPC; Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, for CrPC; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023, for the Indian Evidence Act — were referred to a standing committee.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Background (About the Committee formed to recommend changes)
• BNS Bill, 2023 (Objectives, Key Provisions)

Background:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs in 2020 had constituted a committee headed by (Dr.) Ranbir Singh, former Vice Chancellor of National Law University (NLU), Delhi to review the three codes of criminal law.
• The mandate of the committee was to ‘recommend reforms in the criminal laws of the country in a principled, effective and efficient manner –
  • which ensures the safety and security of the individual, the community and the nation; and
  • which prioritises the constitutional values of justice, dignity and the inherent worth of the individual,’.
• In February the committee submitted its recommendations on the criminal law amendments.

About Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023:

• The Indian Penal Code was drafted by the first Law Commission which was chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1834. The code came into force in January, 1860.
• The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 will repeal and replace the IPC.
• The BNS Bill proposes several changes in the existing provisions including those related to defamation, offence against women and attempt to commit suicide.
• While the IPC has 511 sections, the BNS Bill contains 356 provisions.

Key Highlights of the BNS Bill, 2023:

• Sedition –
  • Under the IPC, section 124-A deals with offence of sedition and prescribes sentence of life imprisonment or imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added.
  • In the BNS Bill, provision 150 under the chapter pertaining to ‘offences against the State’ talks about acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India.
• Terrorism –
  • For the first time, word terrorism has been defined under the BNS Bill which was not there under the IPC.
  • A terrorist has been defined as one who commits any act in India or a foreign country with the intention to threaten the unity, integrity and security of India, to intimidate the general public or a segment thereof, or to disturb public order.
• Now, in the BNS Bill, the offence of defamation carries a simple imprisonment of up to two years, or with fine, or with both or with community service.
• Mob Lynching –
  • Notably, for the first-time capital punishment has been introduced for the offence of mob lynching apart from the offence being made punishable with 7 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment.
• Sexual exploitation of women on the pretext of marriage, job, promotions or by concealing identity will be considered a crime.
• The new Bill omits the provision for the offence of adultery.
  • This is in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2018 in the case of Joseph Shine v. Union of India, where Section 497 of the IPC, which criminalized adultery, was held to be unconstitutional.
• The new Bill does not include any punishment for ‘unnatural sexual offences against men’.
  • This is in line with the Supreme Court’s unanimous reading down of Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalised same-sex relations between consenting adults in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018).
• The provision legalising marital rape has however been retained.
  • Exception 2 to Section 63 (which defines the offence of rape) reads–’Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.’
• While the punishment for the offence of murder is covered under section 302 of the IPC, it has been covered under provision 101 of the BNS Bill.
  • The punishment for murder, that is life term or death sentence, remains unchanged.
• Speedy Legal Procedure –
  • According to the proposed Bill, a charge-sheet will have to be filed within 90 days, and the court can give permission for another 90 days.
  • Probe will have to be completed in 180 days and sent for trial. After trial, judgment will have to be given in 30 days.