Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal justifies overhaul of criminal laws; says present laws lack 'Indianness'

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday justified the overhaul of criminal laws by bringing bills to replace the IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act, saying these laws were imposed on Indians by the British. Speaking at an event here on the tele law scheme of his ministry, he said while we refer to pro bono services (free legal help by lawyers) being extended in the United States and the United Kingdom, we tend to forget that India too had been following a similar model.

He said it is because our mentality is such that we believe that if it is happening there, it has to be good.

"Therefore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wondered whether we can work on the basis of Indianness," he said.


Meghwal said based on it, a big decision has been taken to improve the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Evidence Act through a set of bills introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah.

"Why cannot we call it Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita?" he said.

He further argued that what we call India's first war of Independence in 1857 was referred to by the British as a "mutiny".

"When the direct British rule started in India, they began codifying the laws. In 1834, Irish Penal Code was framed. They replaced 'Irish' with 'Indian' and implemented on us, rather imposed it on us. We accepted it. No one ever thought that we should think based on Indianness," he said.

The bills -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill -- were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Shah on August 11.



The bills, once passed, will replace the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act.

While introducing the bills, Shah said these would transform India's criminal justice system and added the changes were done to provide speedy justice and create a legal system that caters to contemporary needs and aspirations of the people.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provides for several changes in the existing provisions, including that of defamation, attempt to commit suicide and expanded the scope of offence against women pertaining to sexual intercourse by employing "deceitful means".

For the first time, the word 'terrorism' has been defined under the BNS which was not there under the IPC.

The three bills are now referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs which is expected to make recommendations in three months.