LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The 22nd Law Commission recently recommended that criminal defamation should be retained within the scheme of criminal laws in India, the Law Ministry said.

oThe panel submitted its report to the Ministry, wherein the Law Commission argued that the right to reputation, derived from Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteeing the right to life and personal liberty, must be protected.

Law Commission Of India

• About: It is an executive body established by an order of govt of India.
• It  ensure that the laws formed are just and fair which work towards its proper implementation.
• It works as: An advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. 
• It is not defined under the Indian Constitution but It is constituted as part of Article 39A.
• Generally law Commission is Constituted for a term of 3 year but Govt can extend the same.

Major Recommendation of Law Commission Of India

• Abolition of death penalty for all crimes except terror-related offences and waging war against the state. (Law Commission 267th Report)
• It recommended for simultaneous election of Lok Sabha and State Assembly for improvement of governance and stability of the states. (170th Report)
• It recommended the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country,  for the formulation of one law for India, which would apply to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption. (170th Report of Law Commission)
• The 213th report in the year 2008 recommended setting up of Fast track magisterial courts with special high technology facilities.

Criminal Defamation 

• Defamation: Any false and unprivileged statement published or spoken deliberately, intentionally, knowingly with the intention to damage someone's reputation is defamation. Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines what is defamation and its exceptions. 
• Criminal defamation: It is nothing but a defamation for which simple imprisonment may be awarded.