Union Home Minister Amit Shah
| Photo Credit: ANI
As the new criminal laws are implemented from today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the laws will be applicable for cases if the date of crime is on or after July 1, 2024.
Mr. Shah spoke to reporters in New Delhi on the newly-enacted criminal laws namely, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) that has replaced the colonial-era criminal codes Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA).
Replying to a question on ambiguity on which law would be tried for pending cases, Mr Shah explained: “If the date of crime is before July 1, 2024, then it will be tried under old laws, if it is later, it will be tried under new laws.” He also said it might take three to four years for all the laws and its technological upgrades to be implemented.
“Technology has not reached all police stations, I agree but BNS is applicable across the country,” Mr. Shah said adding, it will be implemented before August 15 in all Union Territories. Preparedness is required for Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, not for BNA, BNSS, he added.
Mr. Shah also said the issue of bringing sexual crimes against men will be discussed since a Supreme Court verdict has mentioned this.
Mr. Shah said a case registered for a motorcycle theft in Gwalior is the first-ever FIR filed under the new law.
On terrorism, Mr. Shah said it has been defined separately in BNS “as we have a zero terror policy, there are some instances when conspiracies are hatched outside the country.” He recalled how a bomb blast occurred when he was Gujarat Home Minster. “All conspirators walked free as terror was not defined.”
