REVAMP OF BILLS (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs examined three Bills aimed at replacing the Indian Penal Code, CrPC, and the Evidence Act, and it approved its draft reports, despite multiple dissent notes from opposition members on the panel.

Key Changes and Provisions

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, replaces The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 (originally enacted in 1898).
• Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023, replaces the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

New provisions in Bills

• Mob lynching is subject to penalties of seven years imprisonment, life imprisonment, or the death penalty.
• Fast-track justice is facilitated through video trials and electronic filing of First Information Reports (FIRs).
• The definition of sedition has been broadened, and provisions against corruption, terrorism, and organized crime have been strengthened.
• New forms of punishment, such as community service and solitary confinement, have been introduced.
• Trials can take place even in the absence of the accused.
• The scope of offenses related to sexual intercourse through "deceitful means" involving women has been extended.