Supreme Court refuses to entertain PIL against new criminal laws, allows withdrawal of petition

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, May 20

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL challenging the newly enacted criminal laws which will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Indian Evidence Act ,1872 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from July 1 this year.

“The petition is drafted in a casual manner… The laws have not come into force,” a Bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal told petitioner-in-person advocate Vishal Tiwari.

As the Bench wasn’t inclined to entertain it Tiwari chose to withdraw it and the PIL was accordingly “dismissed as withdrawn”.

Earlier, another Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud had dismissed a similar petition in February.

Passed by Parliament in the Winter Session of Parliament, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on December 25 and would come into effect from July 1, 2024.

Tiwari alleged there were several “defects and discrepancies” in the laws aimed to replace colonial era penal laws.

“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. If the British laws were considered colonial and draconian, then the Indian laws now stand far more draconian as in the British period you could keep a person in police custody for a maximum of 15 days. Extending 15 days to 90 days and more, is a shocking provision enabling police torture,” Tiwari submitted in his petition.

Alleging that the three new criminal laws were enacted without any parliamentary debate as most of the opposition members were under suspension, Tiwari urged the top court to stay their operation and immediately set up an expert committee to assess their viability.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita included offences such as acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity even as it did away with sedition which was an offence under Section 124A of the IPC.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, anyone purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine. For the first time, it also defines ‘terrorism’.