Postpone implementation of new criminal laws, Mamata writes to PM

Kolkata: The Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Friday urging him to postpone the implementation of three new criminal laws set to be rolled out on July 1 and to place them on the floor of Parliament for “fresh deliberation and scrutiny”.

The new laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act. The laws will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 respectively.

In her letter, Banerjee also urged PM Modi to “halt and review the whole subject anew” and added the deferment would enable a renewed Parliamentary review of the criminal laws. The new laws aim to provide speedy justice to the citizens of the country and will strengthen the judicial and court management system.

Banerjee pointed out that these critical Bills were passed unilaterally by the outgoing government on December 20 last year, without any proper debate. She also highlighted that nearly 100 members of the Lok Sabha were suspended, and a total of 146 MPs from both Houses were expelled from the Parliament. She described the passage of the bills as an authoritarian act that took place during a dark hour for democracy and called for a review of the matter.

“I urge your esteemed office now to consider at least a deferment of the implementation date. Reasons are twofold: ethical, and practical. Ethically, I believe that it would be in the fitness of things to place these significant legislative changes before the newly elected Parliament for fresh deliberation and scrutiny,” Banerjee mentioned in her letter.

Banerjee, who is also Trinamool Congress supremo, had previously written two letters to the Union Home minister, emphasising the need for extreme caution and due diligence before making any changes to the existing structure of the country’s penal-criminal jurisprudence. She also pointed out that the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha should deliberate upon these crucial legislations and reach a consensus.

“Ethically, I believe that it would be in the fitness of things to place these significant legislative changes before the newly elected Parliament for fresh deliberation and scrutiny. Given the wide-ranging reservations expressed in the public domain regarding the hurriedly passed new laws, fresh Parliamentary review of these attempts would demonstrate a commitment to democratic principles and foster greater transparency and accountability in the legislative process,” the letter read.

She further mentioned: “The request for postponement stems from a pragmatic assessment of the challenges and preparatory work required for a smooth transition, particularly concerning the training of law enforcement personnel and judicial officers.”

The laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act — got the Parliament’s approval on December 21, 2023, during the winter session. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25.

“If you kindly recall, on the 20th of December last year, the outgoing Government of yours had passed these three critical Bills unilaterally, and with absolutely no debate. That day, almost one hundred members of the Lok Sabha had been suspended and a total 146 MPs of the both Houses were thrown out of the Parliament. The Bills were passed in an authoritarian manner in that dark hour of democracy. Matter deserves review now,” Banerjee wrote in the letter.