What is the criminal Law in India?

From the antiquity the Indian society has always been governed by specific set of law like the i.e. Harappan Civilization but it differs in terms of its regulations from time to time

Ancient:

In the ancient times laws were often linked with divine origin for their validation it was often unjust and biased but people did not have enough exposure to rectify the problems.

There was altogether no uniform system and religious text use to guide the citizens. Dharma which prescribed the moral and legal duty. Manusmriti, Arthashastra.

Crime was seen as adharma. And the criminal procedures were often conducted in royal courts and by royal officers.

Medieval:

Things started to become complex with the advent of monarchial rule being established because this time the last verdict was not rational but the decision of the king.

More often the monarch tried to provide their subject justice but not always it was carried out. The punishments were also arbitrary and with no mercy considered.

Pre Independence Era:

With the inception of the British colony in India and overthrow existing norms they tried to impose their form of law on our society as there was not uniform law whatsoever with the regional difference taken in account.

Under the law commission of British India headed by lord Thomas Babington Macaulay the first uniform legal codes were enacted through governor general Lord canning in 1860 the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure code and the Indian Evidence act.

As been mentioned previously law in India was followed in accordance with the divinity, to make things more systematic the British enforced these laws.

Post Independence:

Even after independence the government of the countries restructured the pre-established law according to our country and enforced it only.

Contemporary Situations:

The situations change altogether, as to remove all the leftovers of the British government the old criminal laws were replaced with the new ones in 2023. IPC was changed into Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

CrPC was replaced with Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, further the Indian evidence act was replaced with Bhartiya sakshya adhiniyam to deal with the changing and diverse society of ours.

IPC:

IPC refers to as Indian Penal Code. That came in effect in 1860 under the British raj the main purpose of introduction of this particular law was to prevail a unifying criminal justice system.

IPC is enacted when the crime is already committed and the offender is already been convicted in the judicial process.

It was drafted by the first Law commission of India (1834) which was headed and chaired by lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, and it was enforced by governor general lord canning.

Even after partition both of the country’s government took its form of IPC, restructured and modified according to their country. After serving the country till 2023 with 511 section and 23 chapter it was finally replaced with BNS.

CrPC:

The Code of Criminal Procedure, commonly called Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), was the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India.

It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974.

It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty.

It also deals with public nuisance, prevention of offences and maintenance of wife, child and parents.

On 11 August 2023, a Bill to replace the CrPC with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was introduced in the Lok Sabha. On 26 December 2023, it was replaced with Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

IEA:

The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed in India by the Imperial Legislative Council in 1872 during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and related provisions governing the admissibility of evidence in Indian courts of law.

The India Evidence Act was replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam on 1 July 2024.

The enactment and adoption of the Indian Evidence Act was a significant development in India, transforming the system of rules regarding the admissibility of evidence in Indian courts of law.

Until then, the rules of evidence were based on the traditional legal systems of different social groups and communities of India and were different for different people depending on caste, community, faith and social position.

The Indian Evidence Act introduced a standard set of law applicable to all Indians.

The law is mainly based upon the firm work by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, who could be called the founding father of this comprehensive piece of legislation.

In some Islamic-majority legal systems, such as Palestinian law and Iranian law, commercial law still well into the 21st century, relies heavily on testimonial evidence or customary law, rather than documentary evidence.

The New Criminal Law:

BNS:

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Indian Justice Code (IJC), 2023) is the new criminal code of India. It came into effect on 01 July 2024, after being passed by the Parliament in December 2023, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code of 1860 (IPC).

In the BNS, 20 new offences have been added to and 19 provisions in the repealed IPC have been dropped.

The punishment of imprisonment has been increased for 33 offences, and fines have been increased for 83 offences.

A mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced for 23 offences. A sentence of community service has been introduced for six offences.

• Offences against the body: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on murder, abetment of suicide, assault and causing grievous hurt. It adds new offences such as organized crime, terrorism, and murder or grievous hurt by a group on certain grounds.
• Sexual offences against women: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on rape, voyeurism, stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman. It increases the threshold for the victim to be classified as an adult, in the case of gang rape, from 16 to 18 years of age.
• Offences against property: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on theft, robbery, burglary and cheating. It adds new offences such as cybercrime and financial fraud.
• Offences against the state: The BNS removes sedition as an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for acts endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.
• Offences against the public: The BNS adds new offences such as environmental pollution and human trafficking.

BNSS:

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 (Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Indian Citizen Safety Code (ICSC), 2023), is the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India

Consolidating and simplifying the law: The BNSS consolidates and simplifies the law by repealing and amending a number of provisions of the CrPC.

Strengthening the rights of the accused: The BNSS strengthens the rights of the accused by providing for safeguards, such as the right to a lawyer of choice during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation, and the right to a fair trial.

Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest.

When any person is arrested, he shall be examined by a medical officer in the service of the Central Government or a State Government, and in case the medical officer is not available, by a registered medical practitioner soon after the arrest is made.

Improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system: The BNSS seeks to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system by streamlining procedures and reducing delays.

The following are some of the key changes made in the BNSS:

Arrest: The BNSS expands the grounds for arrest and allows for arrest without a warrant in a wider range of cases.

Investigation: The BNSS gives the police more powers to investigate crimes and requires them to complete investigations within a specified time period.

Trial: The BNSS streamlines the trial process and requires courts to dispose of cases within a specified time period.

BSA:

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 Bhartiya Saskya Adhiniyam Indian Evidence Act (IEA), 2023) is an Act of the Parliament of India.