Criminal law amendment bills re-introduced by Central government after minor changes

The Central government has re-introduced three bills to amend India's criminal laws, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023..Notably, the Central government on Monday had withdrawn the earlier versions of the three criminal law bills. It issued a statement indicating that the bills would be reintroduced after making certain changes recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.The earlier iterations of the bills were introduced in Parliament's Monsoon session in August this year..Accordingly, the bills have now been re-introduced with certain changes. .Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita.The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita now comprises 358 sections. The first version of this bill had 356 sections, with 175 sourced from the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with alterations, and by which 22 Sections were proposed to be repealed, and 8 new Sections introduced. Two new provisions have been added to the revised bill, namely Sections 73 (publishing court proceedings without permission) and 86 (cruelty defined).The newly inserted Section 73 says that those who print or publish "any matter" concerning court proceedings in rape or sexual assault cases without permission would be punished with a two year jail sentence and a fine. The explanation to this provision clarifies that reports on "High Court" or "Supreme Court" judgments would not amount to an offence within this provision. The newly inserted Section 86 defines "cruelty" as (a) wilful conduct that is likely to drive a woman to commit suicide or cause grave injury or danger to the life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or (b) harassment of a woman with a view to coerce her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for property or valuable security..The term "mental illness" in the first iteration of the BNS has been replaced by the phrase "unsound mind", as suggested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee..The Bills were earlier criticised by legal experts for bad drafting. The new versions have addressed some of these concerns..Section 150, which is akin to the repealed offence of Sedition, has undergone a change. The revised provision reads:"150. Whoever by any act, or by any illegal omission, conceals the existence of a design to wage war against the Government of India, intending by such concealment to facilitate, or knowing it to be likely that such concealment will facilitate, the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine."Whereas the older provision stated:"150. Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial mean, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.".There has also been a change to Section 23 of the Bill, which deals with acts of a person incapable of judgment by reason of intoxication caused against his will. The revised provision reads:"23. Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, is, by reason of intoxication, incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong, or contrary to law; provided that the thing which intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his will."The earlier provision had the word "unless" instead of "provided", which led to confusion..Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita.Meanwhile, two provisions have been deleted from the revised version of the law slated to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita now has 531 sections. The first bill consisted of 533 sections, out of which 150 were sourced from the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after revisions, 22 Sections of the earlier CrPC were proposed to be repealed, and 9 Sections were to be newly added.Sections 445 (statement by magistrate of grounds of his decision to be considered by High Court) and 479 (bail and bail bond) that were part of the earlier version of this bill have been deleted. .Section 43(3), which provides that handcuffs may be used on persons accused of certain offences, has been changed to exclude economic offences.Magistrates of first and second class can now pass orders sentencing offenders to community service. The explanation to Section 23 defines community service as:""Community service" shall mean the work which the Court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community, for which he shall not be entitled to any remuneration."The Parliamentary Standing Committee had pointed out that the earlier Bill, in Section 262, stated that a discharge application can be filed ‘within a period of sixty days from the date of framing of charges,’ while it is settled law that discharge can occur before charges have been framed. The new Section 262 reads:"262. (1) The accused may prefer an application for discharge within a period of sixty days from the date of supply of copies of documents under section 230."Clause 266, which deals with recording of evidence, contains a new proviso, which states:"Provided further that the examination of a witness under this sub-section may be done by audio-video electronic means at the designated place to be notified by the State Government.".The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill remains unchanged and has 170 sections. Of these, 23 sections have been sourced from the Indian Evidence Act with amendments, 1 Section is entirely new, and 5 Sections are proposed to be removed..The Lok Sabha is slated to discuss the new bills on December 14 (Thursday), for which 12 hours have been allotted.Addressing the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier stated that the process of drafting the three proposed laws involved consultations with 18 States, 7 Union Territories, judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts, 22 law universities, 142 Members of Parliament (MPs), 270 Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and numerous members of the public. This effort spanned four years and encompassed a total of 158 meetings, he had said. .[Read the Second Bills]