New Indian Penal Code has become more draconian: Chidambaram

New Delhi: With President Droupadi Murmu giving assent to the three new criminal justice bills, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the new Indian Penal Code has become “more draconian” and asserted that the successor government in 2024 must review these laws and remove the “draconian” provisions.

The three new laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act -- replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. In a post on X, former Union home minister Chidambaram said, ‘Just as the Christmas Day celebrations are coming to an end, we hear the news that the President has given her assent to the three criminal law Bills.’

The new Indian Penal Code has become “more draconian”, he alleged.