The Tamil Nadu government has ordered the formation of a one-man committee chaired by retired Madras High Court judge Justice M Sathyanarayanan to recommend State-level amendments to the recently implemented criminal laws.
Chief Minister MK Stalin called for the committee to submit its report on the three new laws, after consulting bar associations and other stakeholders in the State, within one month.
The three new criminal laws - the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam - came into force on July 1.
In a press release, the State government said that the laws were passed by Parliament without proper discussion, without considering the State’s views, and have been named in Sanskrit, which is against the provisions of the Constitution.
Protests and agitations are taking place against these three Acts all over the country, it added.
"Without hearing the view of the Members of Parliament, who reflect the people’s views, the Union Government has passed these new laws without discussion in haste during December, 2023 after suspending 146 Members of Parliament," the release stated.
It went on to state that Stalin had written a detailed letter to the Union Home Minister last month expressing his concerns and objections to certain sections of the new criminal laws.
"In the above letter, the Union Government has been requested to postpone the implementation of the new laws and revisit the same after hearing the views of States by citing certain fundamental flaws in the new laws," the press release highlighted.
On July 2, the Karnataka government also hinted at introducing amendments at the State level to modify the new criminal laws.
The Central government should defer the implementation of the new criminal laws until the recommendations suggested by the State government last year are included, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil had said in a press conference.