New IPC has become more draconian: Congress

New Delhi, December 25

With President Droupadi Murmu giving assent to the three new criminal justice Bills, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the new Indian Penal Code has become “more draconian” and asserted that the successor government in 2024 must review these laws and remove the “draconian” provisions.

The three new laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act — replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. In a post on X, Congress leader P Chidambaram said, “Just as the Christmas celebrations are coming to an end, we hear the news that the President has given her assent to the three criminal laws.”

“The new IPC has become more draconian. If you realise that the code is more often than not used against the poor, working class and the weaker sections of the people, the law will become an instrument of oppression,” he added.