NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions for constituting an expert committee to examine, assess and identify the viability of the three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal refused to entertain the plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari. After the court was not convinced to hear the petition, advocate Tiwari withdrew the plea.
The court also noted that the petition was filed in a very casual manner. The plea was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who has urged the top court to issue specific directions, policies and regulations and to initiate guidelines and directions to immediately constitute an expert committee under the chairmanship of a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and its members, comprising judges, senior advocates and jurists to examine, assess and identify the viability of the three new criminal laws.
In his public interest litigation (PIL), he has also sought direction to declare the Provisions/Section 187(2) (3), 43(3), 173 (3) and 85 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Surakhsha Sanhita 2023 as ultra vires/unconstitutional, being violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner sought to issue directions to continue the operation and implementation of three new criminal laws.
In the Public Interest Litigation, the advocate Vishal Tiwari said that it was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India against the new bills introduced by Union Home Minister on August 11, 2023, being Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, introduced on December 12, 2023 (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 was withdrawn) with the aim to overhaul the criminal laws of the country and abolish the Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The proposed bills suffer from many defects and discrepancies.
“The above-proposed bills were withdrawn and new bills were produced with some changes, these were passed in parliament on 21st December 2023 and were published in a gazette notification on 25th December 2023 and all have now Assumed the Position of an Act”, read the petition.
According to the petition, the three criminal laws were passed and enacted without any parliamentary debate, as most of the Members were under suspension during the period.
“Parliamentary debate is a fundamental part of democratic lawmaking. In parliament, members debate bills before they vote on them. Because debates are public, they provide Members of Parliament (MPs) an opportunity to represent the views of constituents on the floor and give voice to voters’ concerns. The parliamentary discussions and debates are paramount for legislative portrayal because they generate relationships between people and their representatives and also provide an opportunity to discuss government policy, proposed new laws and current issues. Debates and discussions help make necessary adjustments and amendments to a bill so that it can effectively fulfill its purpose. These can be helpful in Courts while interpreting laws”, the petition said.
“The title of the present Bills being Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam is not accurate as per to Interpretation of Statutes, the title of these proposed bills does not speak about the statute and its motive but the present names of Acts are ambiguous in nature,” it added. According to the petition, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita retains most offences from the Indian Penal Code, of 1860. It adds community service as a form of punishment. Sedition is no longer an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita adds terrorism as an offence. It is defined as an act that intends to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of the country, intimidate the general public, or disturb public order”, the petition added.
The petition also said, “Organised crime has been added as an offence. It includes crimes such as kidnapping, extortion and cyber-crime committed on behalf of a crime syndicate. Petty organised crime is also an offence now. Murder by a group of five or more persons on grounds of certain identity markers, such as caste, language or personal belief, will be an offence with a penalty of seven years to life imprisonment or death”. (ANI)