Union Home Minister Amit Shah Dismisses Opposition’s Criticism Over New Criminal Laws

Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed the opposition’s claims that the newly implemented criminal laws were hastily drafted and merely a “cut, copy, paste” job on Monday during the sixth session of the newly created parliament. he asserted that the new laws had undergone extensive consultation and were a subject of intense debate and discussions.

Shah addressed the criticism and clarified that police custody for an arrested individual is limited to 15 days within a 60-day investigation period which is in stark contrast to the misinformationthat is being spread on the issue. He detailed the extensive consultation process, stating, “We have been consulting on the new laws for four years. I have attended 118 consultative meetings. And in Parliament, there was a 9.29-hour debate in Lok Sabha, 6.7-hour in Rajya Sabha on the new laws…34 members in Lok Sabha and 26 in Rajya Sabha participated [in the debate],”

These remarks were made during a media briefing on the day the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) came into effect, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code, and Indian Evidence Act, respectively. The first case under these new laws was registered in Gwalior.

Opposition leaders have strongly criticized the new laws, arguing they were enacted without adequate discussion. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in a social media post, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pretending to respect the Constitution while forcibly passing the laws by suspending 146 MPs. “…but the truth is that the three laws of the criminal justice system that are being implemented from today [Monday] were forcibly passed by suspending 146 MPs [members of Parliament].”

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“A task that could have been completed with a few amendments to the existing three laws has been turned into a wasteful exercise. Yes, there are a few improvements in the new laws and we have welcomed them. They could have been introduced as Amendments,” Former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on X. He labeled the new laws as a lazy endeavor, with 90-99% of their content simply copied from the existing statutes. P Chidambaram took the opportunity to suggest that the necessary changes could have been achieved simply by making amendments to the existing laws rather than introducing new laws. Congress MP Manish Tewari also called for a re-examination of the new criminal laws by the parliament. He warned that the new laws paved the way for a police state.

Shah maintained that the majority of suggestions for reforms were incorporated into the new laws, except for four of a political nature. He emphasized that the new laws prioritize justice over the penal action focus of the British-era laws.“The criminal justice system of India is now completely indigenous. It will function on Indian ethos. After 75 years, discussions took place on changing these obsolete laws and they are coming into practice,” he said.