New criminal laws oppressive, mark India's shift to totalitarianism: Kapil Sibal

The recently enacted criminal laws - the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) - are oppressive and herald India's shift to a totalitarian system, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said on Friday..Sibal opined that these laws also violate the principle of federalism and other constitutional values."I do not understand why we needed the new laws at all. We are moving to a totalitarian system. Why is the new IPC called Nyay Sanhita? It is the State that prosecutes crimes against society, so where is Nyay (Justice)? If you take law into your own hands and break it, society will punish you. So it is punishment not 'nyay.' So it is actually 'anyay' (injustice). New CrPC is called Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. How it is 'Suraksha'? It is a complete non-application of mind as to how the laws are titled," Sibal said.He added that the provisions allowing the initiation of criminal cases from any part of the country (regardless of where the alleged criminal offence took place) were a recipe for disaster. "It is the ideal recipe for prosecution - FIR can be lodged and probed anywhere. Opposition leaders will be targeted. It is a recipe for disaster and has been incorporated into the statute without any thought at all," he said..The senior counsel and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president was delivering the inaugural lecture on Crime and Punishment, organised by policy think tank Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The theme of the address was "Are our Criminal Laws consistent with our Constitutional Values?"The session was hosted by Vidhi's Research Director, Arghya Sengupta..In his address, Sibal also expressed concerns over the expansion of police powers under the new laws. Referring to provisions that now allow an accused to be kept under police custody for 60-90 days after arrest (as opposed to the earlier 15 days), Sibal said:"Is there any other country (that does this)? There is none that allows such arrest and custody. Most laws in liberal countries are that within 24 hours you are produced before a magistrate and usually let out on bail, because it is rule not exception when you are innocent until proven guilty."Sibal went on to remark that the law has now been made more oppressive."A person arrested on suspicion will now never get bail for 60-90 days. In other words you have made the law far more oppressive. Investigation and trial can happen in different States, and that is why it is against federalism," he said..New criminal laws provide justice, not punishment: Minister of State for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal .Sibal further noted that people can now be more easily implicated in cases involving allegations of organised crime and terrorist activities."These are some extremely 'liberal' provisions, I must say, that the Home Minster has thought of ... If you give food to protestors, the State later deems (that you can be put under the definition of) "terrorists" ... The laws are per se and procedurally unreasonable," he said.The offence of sedition, which was stayed by Supreme Court, has come back in another worse form, Sibal opined."Law in this country has become an instrument for politics and these laws epitomise that trend. All these laws will now not be used for 'nyay' but to punish people you don't like. Seventy per cent of news, if you see, is law and politics. Nobody wants to invest (in India) anymore because they do not want to be targeted. Laws are becoming more and more intrusive. The new laws show not the values of our Constitution but of those who rule us," he added..In the ensuing interactive session, Sibal opined that the intent of the new criminal codes is to control people, social media platforms, the student community, farmers and curb all forms of protest."Ninety-five per cent of the new laws are same as the old. The rest are meant to further aggrandise the State's powers. If protest becomes an organised crime, then that is a problem. Another problem is that these laws do not say they will be cognisant of judicial pronouncements (delivered so far)," he said. .Objective might be good but new criminal laws have created chaos: Madras High Court