‘New criminal laws a disaster for people of the country’

MP, 6 Dec 2023, Kolkata: State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim on Tuesday referred to the introduction of the new criminal-penal laws as a new version of UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) which will entrench ‘Police Raj’ in India by conferring far more powers in the hands of enforcement agencies that were contemplated during colonial days. 

“The Indian Constitution states clearly that no innocent people should suffer. However, the new criminal-penal laws seem to be meant for the police, by the police, of the police as it will empower them to detain people indefinitely simply on even suspicion grounds. 

The Republic of India will be witnessing police dominance and it will be a disaster for the people of the country,“ Hakim said during a discussion on a resolution under Rule 169 opposing the new criminal-penal laws at the state Assembly. 

The Centre has brought three bills seeking to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, respectively. 

State Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay who introduced the resolution said that the Bills fall far short of decolonisation of the Indian Criminal Justice Delivery System. 

“By opting to use Hindi in christening the three new Bills, the Centre has violated the unitary nature of the country where the citizens speak a variety of languages other than Hindi thereby highlighting the narrow design and lop-sided approach,“ Chattopadhyay added. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last Wednesday had written to Union Home minister Amit Shah urging him to arrive at a consensus on new criminal-penal laws among stakeholders, rather than rushing to pass them in their current form. 

Discussions on the resolution will continue in the Assembly on Wednesday too. https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/new-criminal-laws-a-disaster-for-people-of-the-country-543163