In a groundbreaking development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three bills in the Lok Sabha today to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, which were all enacted during the British Raj in a complete overhaul of the country's criminal laws.

The IPC, which was framed by the British in the year 1860, has been the core of the criminal justice system of the country for more than 160 years.

It will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The CrPC of 1973 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The Indian Evidence Act of 1872 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.

The Bills have been framed after extensive consultation with various stakeholders including Supreme Court and High Court Judges, Law Universities, Chief Ministers, Governors etc. The Bills also take inspiration from various Committee recommendations.

Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita repeals 22 provisions of IPC, proposes changes to 175 existing provisions and introduces 9 new Sections. It contains total 356 provisions.

During his speech, Shah said the Bill completely repeals the offence of Sedition. The Bill however has provisions for "Offences against the State Section 150 of the Bill deals with "Acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India". He also mentioned that the Bill makes provision to penalize the offence of 'Mob Lynching' and the same is punishable with 7 years or life imprisonment or death penalty.

Source: BarandBench and LiveLaw