New Delhi: Is the impending enforcement of new criminal laws from July 1 this year set to send judges, lawyers and police back to school? The three main stakeholders have a difficult task ahead of them to get acquainted with the provisions and terminologies of the new legislations.

Legal eagles are worried about how they will adjust to the new laws, which many of them believe would further burden courts. They say there have been no prior efforts to iron out several issues, there are confusions on the effective implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).

The new laws will replace 1860’s Indian Penal Code or IPC, 1973’s Code of Criminal Procedure or CrPC and 1872’s Indian Evidence Act. The government claims that the legislation will overhaul the justice delivery system in the country.

The BNS, the BNSS and BSA was passed by the Parliament on December 23 and President’s assent on December 25. It was notified through an official gazette on the same day.

Since there is a prohibition of retroactivity in criminal laws, sub judice cases will continue to be dealt with in accordance with old laws, while the new cases will be tried as per the new legislation. It means, now there will be two sets of laws that will be in effect parallelly.

It’s time for the police, lawyers, trial courts and judges of high courts and the Supreme Court to forget what they had studied in old statute books in legal schools and get ready for what is ahead as there seems to be no breathing time

Previously, cheating was classified under Section 420 of the IPC, but now the individuals, dealing with the justice delivery system, will have to get acquainted with new statute books to be aware of the new provision under which the offence has been classified. 

One important aspect that needs to be talked about is the logistical and technical difficulties the shift will bring in.

The Mooknayak talked to many practicing lawyers and law professors to understand the conversation on the other side of the table.

Advocate Satyam Singh, who practices at the Supreme Court, explained, “The first problem will appear before the entire judicial system — from the police to the highest level of judiciary. One needs to understand that the whole legal system has gotten used to different sections of the IPC, the CrPC and the Evidence Act, and it will take time to get used to the changes.”

“Another problem will be to simultaneously argue cases (the sub judice and newer ones) as per two different legislation (the existing IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act and the BNS, the BNSS and BSA).”

He said all stakeholders will have to get used to new terminologies, and it’s not so easy.

Dr Seema Singh, assistant professor at Faculty of Law, Delhi University, said, “There is a jumbling of sections and addition of new ones, which will add on to confusion in the beginning.”

She hoped that there would not be much difficulty in teaching, but adapting with and understanding the new sections will certainly be a challenge for the practicing lawyers. 

“When the changes in the criminal laws were introduced, we did hold some introductory classes to talk about the same. Once they are implemented, we will see to the changes in our learning pedagogy,” she added.

If the new criminal laws are implemented in a phased manner, she said, it will not only help the students but the practicing lawyers as well.

On January 23, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court informed lawyers in his courtroom that he intends to consistently use original names, such as the IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. This decision holds even if these laws are replaced with new ones bearing Hindi names.

While presiding over a case that involved a crucial legal question regarding the limitation period under Section 468 of the Cr.P.C., Justice Venkatesh conveyed to advocates that he would stick to referring to the IPC as IPC due to his unfamiliarity with the Hindi language.

Kanmani Ray, a practicing lawyer at the Madras High Court, emphasised on the Hindi terminologies that have been used in the new laws.

“Lawyers practicing in areas where Hindi is not the first language, which includes the South, West Bengal, northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, will find it difficult,” she pointed out.

“When one goes deeper, they will understand that the most amount of pressure is felt at the district courts where every document is in local language,” the lawyer said, asking that “now, if you have a provision that is entirely in Hindi, how will that get implemented?”

She raised a question that still lacks clarity. “If the offense is a continuing act, will it fall under the older IPC or the newer BNS?”

“That determines everything because, from registering a complaint to fighting for justice, everything will change,” she observed.

The provision related to hit-and-run cases under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the lawyers pointed out, has been temporarily suspended.

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