Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs meets today to adopt draft reports of new Bills

NEW DELHI: A meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs will be held on Monday, in the national capital to consider and adopt the following draft reports on 'The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023', 'The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023' and 'The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023'.

"Members are informed that the next meeting of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs will be held at the 6" November 2023 in Committee Room "2", PHA-Extension, New Delhi to consider and adopt the draft Reports." read the Parliament notice. Draft 246 Report on The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Draft 247 Report on The Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Samhita, 2023, and Draft 248 Report on The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 will be considered for adoption the draft Reports.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 were introduced in the Lower House of Parliament on August 11. These bills seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively. While introducing the bills on August 11, Home Minister Amit Shah had said the soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to the citizens. "British-era laws were made to strengthen and protect their rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice," he had said.

"We (government) are going to bring changes in both these fundamental aspects. The soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to Indian citizens. The objective will not be to punish anyone but to give justice and in this process, punishment will be given where it is required to create a sense of prevention of crime," Shah stressed. The Home Minister said that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, will now have 533 sections.

"A total of 160 sections have been changed, nine new sections have been added and nine sections have been repealed," he said. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, which will replace the IPC, will have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, the minister said, adding that 175 sections have been amended, 8 new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed.

Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167. Shah said 23 sections have been changed, one new section has been added and five repealed.