K’taka govt opposes new criminal laws, says Centre did not take suggestions | India News

The Minister recalled that in 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote to CM Siddaramaiah asking him to review and give suggestions on these laws. (Photo: PTI)

The Karnataka government on Monday opposed the three new criminal laws, which came into force on July 1, saying the Centre did not take its suggestions into consideration.

Based on the Chief Minister’s direction, an expert committee was formed. The panel submitted a report to Siddaramaiah, which was forwarded to Shah. We gave a total of 23 suggestions but the central government did not take any of it seriously. No opinion of ours is included in it. Now, the new codes have been duly implemented, the Minister said.

He also charged that the Centre has no moral rights to implement the three laws now.

The three laws have been changed and new laws have been implemented. Any government that makes a law has the right to enforce it during its tenure. However, it is an unethical and politically absurd move to implement after the end of the government’s tenure, Patil said.

To a query, the Minister said the state government is empowered to amend laws. There is an opportunity to make amendments exercising the constitutional rights.

Explaining the scope for amendment, Patil said, Fasting in protest against the government action is an offense, but suicide is not a crime in this law. This is unfortunate. It is an insult to the freedom struggle. In this regard, we will bring an amendment on fasting.

The Karnataka government had suggested to the Centre to amend the law to prosecute those who show disrespect to the father of the nation, national emblem and tricolour but it did not agree. In this regard, the state government has contemplated an amendment, the minister noted.

The new law gives investigative agencies unilateral and discretionary powers to prosecute individuals for the organised crime.

Further, he pointed to a provision for three years imprisonment and fine for hurting the national integrity.

The Act will be amended for cyber crime, hacking, financial crime, nuclear weapons secrecy and sabotage through technology, he explained.

While Trinamool Congress accused the government of getting them “forcibly” passed in the Parliament after suspending 146 MPs and asserted that new “draconian” laws will have “disastrous implications”.

Three new criminal laws came into effect in the country on Monday, bringing far-reaching changes in India’s criminal justice system.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) take into account some of the current social realities and modern-day crimes.

The new laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

“One word sums up the new criminal laws: DRACONIAN!,” the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) posted on X.

The party also “posted that the unconstitutional origins of the new criminal laws lie in December 2023, when 146 opposition MPs were suspended and three criminal code bills were hurriedly passed through the parliament without any proper discussion or debate.”

“The new laws introduced broadly defined offences which could lead to over-criminalization. Prolonged police custody could infringe on civil liberties and increase risks of abuse and coercion. The expanded powers granted under these laws could be misused, leading to violations of privacy and due process. Justice backlog and infrastructure deficiencies could hinder effective justice delivery,” it said.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June this year urging him to pause the operation of the three criminal laws that replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.

First Published: Jul 01 2024 | 8:57 PM IST