Hriday Shah
At the break of dawn on the 1st of July, 2024, the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act were substituted by the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. A day prior to the new era of criminal acts, i.e. on 30th June 2024, a conference was hosted by the Ministry of Law and Justice on ‘India’s Progressive Path in the Administration of Criminal Justice System.’ This one-day conference was split into three sessions, each emphasizing on one of the acts. These sessions were chaired by Bombay High Court Justices R. M. Dere, A. S. Gadkari and B. Dhangre.
Various dignitaries highlighted various aspects of these new acts and the shift from the old acts to new acts. The Minister of State for Law, Arjun Ram Meghwal emphasized that the focal point of the new criminal acts would be on providing justice unlike the disestablished criminal laws. He further stated that the formulation of the new laws involved extensive inputs from the MPs, MLAs, common citizens as well as the Law Commission of India.
Other dignitaries included the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who explained the role of the justice system implementing these laws and how they are collectively responsible for the rights of the citizens on India. Chief Justices of both the Rajasthan High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia respectively also shed light on the importance of these new acts.
Justice Chandrakant Vasant Bhadang, Former Bombay High Court Justice and current President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, and Dr. Rajiv Mani, the Secretary of Legal Affairs of the Law Ministry also spoke at the conference. The valedictory ceremony speech was given by Ramesh Bais, Governor of Maharashtra who stressed on the fact how the new laws have clearer guidelines along with better accountability measures which look promising in improving the transparency in law enforcement.