New criminal laws made for, and by, the people of Bharat, says Governor Ravi

Governor R.N. Ravi announces new criminal laws for Bharat, replacing IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act for indigenous jurisprudence.

The new criminal laws, which will come into force from July 1, were made for, and by, the people of Bharat; and not by colonisers, said Governor R.N. Ravi.  

The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, will be replaced with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973, with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, with the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

At the valedictory function of the one-day conference on India’s criminal justice reforms held at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai campus, on Sunday, Mr. Ravi said the existing IPC, CrPC, and the Indian Evidence Act had to be replaced as they were not made by the Indian Parliament or the people of India.  

“We deserve to have laws created by our people. These three laws are examples of our jurisprudence,” he said, adding that “India is a union of States”. The Constitution termed it a union of States and not a federation, he pointed out.  

Mr. Ravi said the country has a rich heritage of jurisprudence. Even Tirukkural is a book of jurisprudence, he said. Though there may be teething problems in implementing the new laws, there is a need to come up with our own jurisprudence, he added.  

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) and former Kerala Governor P. Sathasivan, who traced the journey of the three laws, said judges, lawyers, the police, and students would require much training before they can get a hold of the new laws. The former CJI briefly delved into the various aspects of each of the three new laws, and called for training the police personnel in the new areas. He appealed to the Union Law Ministry officials to take note of the various complaints and suggestions made and bring them to the Ministry’s knowledge for rectification.