Unfair to say old legal system has outlived utility: Justice Augustine George Masih

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 11

The existing criminal justice system was ill-equipped to address the rapidly changing society. A complete overhaul of the existing criminal justice apparatus was required with the advancement of technology and the emergence of new forms of crime. It has now been put in place in the new system, said Justice Augustine George Masih of the Supreme Court.

He was addressing the district judiciary during the inaugural function of a three-day capacity building programme at the Chandigarh Judicial Academy today. Justice Masih, at the same time, asserted that it would be unfair to say that the old legal system or the laws have outlived their utility.

“If you go through the provisions, probably you’ll realise that they are still there. The framework is by and large the same. Maybe the placement of the provisions has been made to make it more workable and practical,” Justice Masih asserted.

The gathering was also told that the laws now had an Indian touch. The earlier laws were with an intention to suppress and dictate. Now it was more inclusive. “That is a basic change which has now taken place. So it is more of an Indianised legal system which has come in.

The programme is being held to sensitise and train the district judiciary on three new criminal laws –– Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

Speaking at the occasion, Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said the society was in a constant state of change, grappling with evolving challenges and complexities.

The law has to be changed in the context of societal changes. “From the 19th century, when the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure were drafted, this may not address the situation today. The Indian Evidence Act of 1872, then drafted would not fit the bill after 150 years… The new laws as such will address the pressing issues of crime and criminality in our societies”.

Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, also the President, Board of Governors at Chandigarh Judicial Academy, said several pivotal additions and revisions have been made in terms of the new laws, namely unauthorised publication of court proceedings, definition of community service, power of preventive detention, plea bargaining, mediation, etc.