The Union government has decided to withdraw three criminal law Bills– Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita – following the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. New drafts will be introduced again after making the necessary changes.
The three criminal law Bills, initially tabled to revamp the criminal justice system and replace the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure, were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 11. "The focus of the existing laws was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the three new laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen," Amit Shah had said during the introduction of the Bills.
They were then referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, and after several rounds of discussions, the Committee suggested changes in the Bills. It recommended a provision to criminalise non-consensual homosexual intimacy, making adultery a gender-neutral crime, and revisions in the Criminal Procedure Code to secure digital evidence, among other changes, Live Law reported.
On Monday, December 11, Amit Shah informed the Parliament that the three Bills would be withdrawn and reintroduced later, after incorporating the recommendations of the Committee.