CJI DY Chandrachud refuses to comment on new criminal laws; says issue sub judice

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 2

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday refused to comment on the three new criminal laws that came into effect on July 1, saying issues relating to these laws were pending before the Supreme Court.

“That has nothing to do with the function for which I have come here…These are issues that are sub judice before the Supreme Court and possibly other high courts and, therefore, I should not be speaking on anything that is likely to come up before courts,” the CJI said.

He was responding to a question on the new criminal laws at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the construction of three additional court buildings at Karkardooma, Shastri Park, and Rohini, in the national capital.

Earlier, CJI Chandrachud had on April 20 hailed the newly enacted three criminal laws as a “watershed moment”, saying these laws had transitioned India’s legal framework on criminal justice into the new age.

Passed by Parliament in December 2023 during the Winter Session, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam have replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; respectively. President Droupadi Murmu’ had given her assent to these laws on December 25, 2023.

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court late last month demanding immediate setting up of an expert panel to examine the viability of the three new criminal laws. It also sought a stay on their implementation on the grounds that the new criminal laws would necessitate changes in court procedures, filing requirements and evidentiary standards, potentially requiring lawyers to adapt to revised court practices and rules of evidence.

The Supreme Court had on May 20 refused to entertain a PIL challenging the newly enacted criminal laws, saying, “The petition is drafted in a casual manner.”