Home Secy Ajay Bhalla to Brief Parl Panel on Three Criminal Law Bills This Week

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and the other top officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs will appear before a Parliamentary panel this week for a detailed presentation on the three criminal law bills which were referred to the standing committee during the last monsoon session.

“Presentation by the Home Secretary on ‘The Committee Room ‘2’, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023′; The A-Extension, New Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023′; and ‘The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023’” a Parliament notice reads.

This comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah last Thursday evening held an informal meeting with MPs from the ruling BJP who are members of the Standing Committee of Home Affairs to explain the bills.

Shah had introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha to replace colonial-era criminal laws– The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code, The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 with The Code of Criminal Procedure and The Bharatiya Sakshaya Bill, 2023 with The Indian Evidence Bill.

The committee has close to three months’ time to submit its report before the next Parliament session. The government has widely spoken about the importance of these bills and the importance of ensuring speedy justice for those who have been fighting cases in courts and languishing in jails for years together.

Before presenting these Bills, even during its drafting, sources further say that the home minister who himself had held over 150 meetings with various stakeholders, including states, has requested the panel for extensive scrutiny.

“What is the basis on which the colonial laws were made? The intent of the Modi government to bring this bill is very clear that justice must be delivered in a time-bound manner,” a source says has been elaborated.

Apart from the chairman of the panel, Brij Lal, some of the other members of the committee include former DGP Dr Satyapal Singh, Dilip Ghosh, Dr Anil Jain and Biplab Deb amongst others from BJP. Congress MP Digvijay Singh and Derek O’Brien from TMC are also on the panel.