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New Delhi, December 3, 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today dedicated to the nation the successful implementation of three transformative new criminal laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam at Chandigarh.
Addressing the gathering, Modi remarked that the identity of Chandigarh was associated with the Goddess Maa Chandi, a form of power which establishes truth and justice.
Same philosophy was the basis of the whole format of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, he added.
The Prime Minister said that the coming into effect of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, inspired by the spirit of the Indian Constitution, was an illustrious moment as the nation was at the important juncture of moving ahead with the resolution of Viksit Bharat as well as commemorating the completion of 75 years of Indian Constitution.
It was a concrete effort towards fulfilling the ideals that our Constitution envisioned for the citizens of the country, he added.
The Prime Minister underscored that the process of making the country’s new Nyay Sanhita has been as comprehensive as the document itself. It involved the hard work of the nation’s many great constitution and legal experts, he said and noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs had asked for suggestions in January 2020.
There were suggestions of many Chief Justices of the Supreme Court along with support from the Chief Justices of many High Courts of the country, he said adding that many stakeholders including the Supreme Court, 16 High Courts, Judicial Academies, Law Institutions, Civil Society Organizations and many intellectuals were involved in debates and discussions and used their vast experience over years to give their suggestions and ideas for the new Sanhitas.
Modi said that Indian Penal Code (IPC) was introduced in 1860 consequent to the country’s first major freedom struggle in 1857. A few years later, the Indian Evidence Act was introduced and then the first structure of CRPC came into existence, he said.
The idea and purpose of these laws was to punish Indians and enslave them, he said.
The Nyaya Sanhita was strengthening the spirit of ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’, which is the basis of democracy, Modi said.
“Citizen first is the basic mantra of Nyay Sanhita”, exclaimed Modi and added that these laws were becoming the protectors of civil rights and the basis of ‘ease of justice’. Noting that it was very difficult to get an FIR registered earlier, Modi remarked that now Zero FIR was legalized and now a case could be registered from anywhere.
The conceptualisation of the three laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, was driven by the vision of the Prime Minister to remove colonial era laws which had continued to exist post-independence, and to transform the judicial system by shifting focus from punishment to justice.
The new criminal laws, which were implemented nationwide on July 1, 2024, aim to make India’s legal system more transparent, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of contemporary society. These landmark reforms mark a historic overhaul of India’s criminal justice system, bringing in new frameworks to tackle modern-day challenges such as cybercrime, organized crime and ensuring justice for victims of various offenses.
