New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court seeks a stay on three newly amended criminal laws: The said rules are Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023. These laws have been filed by residents of Delhi, namely Anjali Patel and Chhaya. They provide an unfavorable review of the laws due to their misleading names and argue that the titles do not represent their actual content or purpose.
Concerning the petition, it was filed on Wednesday, and Parliament was accused of procedural vices from December 2023 as these bills progressed. It came after the Supreme Court had declined to entertain a similar complaint on May 20 from advocate Vishal Tiwari on the grounds that it was premature since the laws had not taken effect.
Resulting in highlighting certain grounds of objections duly to be filled in the petition, challenging certain provisions of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, regarding police remand for which an extension can go up to 15 days in the following initial 40/60 days of judicial remand. It states that this is contrary to a Supreme Court ruling of 1992 and points to circumstances of abuse where individuals with a right to be released on bail ought not to be released.
Furthermore, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is challenged not only for having loopholes in the law of ‘petty organized crime’ but also for having vague terms such as ‘general feeling of insecurity,’ ‘gang’ which were underlined by a parliamentary standing committee for revision.
Among the concerned questions, questions of detainees are raised, especially with reference to the practice of handcuffing under the new laws for any violation, even for economic crimes, violating personal freedom according to the constitution. This contrasts with a previous Supreme Court decision that only allows handcuff use on rare occasions.
The petition has urged the Supreme Court to halt the implementation of these laws, arguing that the constitution of an expert committee of comparative legal experts should consider whether the laws are feasible given the current socio-economic setup in the country for justice’s sake.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!