Prez signs three new Criminal Bills and Telecommunication Act into laws
New Delhi: In a significant development, President Droupadi Murmu on Monday gave assent to the three new Criminal Justice Bills and Telecommunications Bill, turning them into laws.
Three new Criminal Bills are set to completely overhaul the criminal justice system in the country by giving definition of various offences and punishments for those, while Telecommunications Act, 2023’ is set to overhaul the country’s century-old telecom law to make the sector investor-friendly; it prioritises user protection but also extends powers to the government to intercept communications.
The development has been notified on the website of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It is yet to be published in the Gazette of India.
The three new laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act — will replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
“The laws will come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed different provisions of this Sanhita,” according to an official notification.
While replying to a debate on the three Bills in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the focus was on delivering justice rather than handing down punishment.
“Any person liable, by any law for the time being in force in India, to be tried for an offence committed beyond India shall be dealt with according to the provisions of this Sanhita for any act committed beyond India in the same manner as if such act had been committed within India,” the notification said.
The provisions of this Sanhita shall also apply to any offence committed by any citizen of the country in any place without and beyond India, any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be and any person in any place without and beyond India committing offence targeting a computer resource located in India.
The laws have given a clear definition of terrorism, abolished sedition as a crime and introduced a new section titled “offences against the state”.
The legislations were first introduced during the Monsoon session of Parliament in August. After the Standing Committee on Home Affairs made several recommendations, the government decided to withdraw the Bills and introduced their redrafted versions last week.
Shah had said the three legislations were drafted after comprehensive consultations and he had gone through every comma and full stop of the draft legislation before bringing them to the House for approval.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita lists offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity in the new avatar of the sedition law.
While Telecommunications Bill excludes from its ambit broadcasting, and over-the-top services such as WhatsApp and Telegram, it cements rules for spectrum allocation and provides for a non-auction route for assigning airwaves for satellite-based communication services.
The legislation - which allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security - was cleared by the Lok Sabha on December 20, and by Rajya Sabha on December 21.
It supersedes the existing and archaic regulatory framework for the telecommunication sector, based on the Indian Telegraph Act, of 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933), and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act (1950).
“The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 24th December, 2023 and is hereby published for general information...,” according to a gazette notification.
The structural reforms envisaged under The Telecommunications Act, 2023 aim to streamline what has so far been a complex licensing system in the telecom sector and instead ushers-in a simple authorisation mechanism.
It replaces over 100 types of licences with authorisation focussed on three aspects — providing telecommunication services, operating and expanding telecommunication networks and possessing radio equipment.
“It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision,” it said.
The Bill has attempted to tighten noose on pesky callers through various means including by checking misuse of sim. Impersonation and acquisition of SIM fraudulently using someone else’s identity proof for telecom services will be punishable with imprisonment for a term up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh.
It also lays down similar stringent provisions for phone number spoofing for fraud, and moots an “digital-by-design” online grievance redressal mechanism for addressing users’ complaints. Telecom operators have been mandated to capture verifiable biometrics data when they issue a new connection.
