The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea challenging the validity of three new criminal laws to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act.
However, the vacation bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal allowed petitioner advocate Vishal Tiwari to withdraw the plea. During the outset of the hearing, when the petitioner showed disinclination to entertain the plea, the petitioner urged that he be allowed to withdraw the petition.
The bench observed that the petition has been filed in a very casual and cavalier manner, adding that if the petitioner had argued more, the court would have dismissed it with cost. In the plea, the petitioner sought stay on the operation of the three new laws, claiming that the laws were enacted without any parliamentary debate as most of the opposition members were under suspension.
The petition also urged directions from the court for the immediate constitution of an expert committee that will assess the viability of the three new criminal laws. It claimed that the new criminal laws are far more draconian and establish a police state in reality and violate every provision of fundamental rights of the people of India.
It added that if the British laws were considered colonial and draconian, then the Indian laws stand now far more draconian as, in the British period, the authorities could keep a person in police custody for a maximum of 15 days. It noted that extending 15 days to 90 days and more is a shocking provision enabling police torture.
The aforesaid three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act will replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act respectively. The three key legislations were passed in the Lok Sabha on December 21,2023. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the bills on December 25.