I. ABOUT MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR
Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, an Institution with a students’ centric outlook, was established by the Government of Maharashtra in 2015. The University started its academic activities from August 1, 2016 and is currently in its eighth year of academic pursuits with eight batches of B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) Five-Year Integrated Degree Course; four batches of B.A.LL.B. (Honours in Adjudication and Justicing) Five-Years Integrated Degree Course; second batch of B.B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Five-Year Integrated Degree Course; eight batches of One-Year LL.M. (Postgraduate) Degree Course; and five batches of Ph.D. Programme. The University is recognised by the University Grants Commission under 12(B) of University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 and the Bar Council of India (BCI), New Delhi. It is also a member of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi and Consortium of National Law Universities. The University is making rapid progress towards the dream of achieving excellence in the field of legal and justice education with its dedicated faculty members, research associates, research scholars, students and staff under the dynamic guidance of the Chancellor, Hon’ble Shri Justice Bhushan R. Gavai, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Vijender Kumar.
II. INTRODUCTION TO THREE NEW CRIMINAL LAWS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 76th Independence Day speech, said,
“In this Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal, new laws should be made by abolishing the laws which have been going on from the time of slavery”.
The reference in this speech was with regards to repeal of more than 1,500 archaic laws in India with a quest to break away from the remnants of India’s colonial past. Almost a year later, on August 11, 2023, the Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, introduced three bills to replace the existing codes on criminal law. The Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) was set to be replaced by The Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023. The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (Cr.P.C.) was set to be taken over by The Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Bill 2023 and The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (I.E.A.) was set to be replaced by The Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam Bill 2023. During the introduction of the bills in Lok Sabha, Shri Amit Shah highlighted, “The focus of the existing laws was to protect and strengthen the British administration, the idea was to punish and not to give justice. By replacing them, the three new laws will bring the spirit to protect the rights of the Indian citizen”. However, after a detailed discussion in Lok Sabha on various changes introduced in the three Bills, they were referred to a 3-member Parliamentary Standing Committee. After due deliberation of the said committee, on December 11, 2023, the three criminal law bills were withdrawn and replaced with three new Bills after incorporating the changes recommended by the said parliamentary committee. The Central Government on December 12, 2023, introduced the revised criminal law bills in Lok Sabha namely, The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and The Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023. The revised bills were passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on December 20 and December 21, 2023, respectively. Thereafter on December 25, 2023, the President, Ms. Draupadi Murmu gave her assent to the three new criminal code bills, thereby converting the three bills into enacted Acts of the Parliament. Recently, Ministry of Home Affairs issued three notifications, notifying the date of commencement of these three criminal laws from July 1,2024.
III. OVERVIEW OF THREE NEW CRIMINAL LAWS
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The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)
The BNS 2023, has been streamlined and it will now consist of only 358 Sections as opposed to 511 Sections in IPC, 1860, 21 new offences have been added in it, the term of imprisonment has been increased in 41 offences, the penalty has been increased in 82 offences and mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced in 25 crimes and 19 sections have been repealed. The essential highlights of the newly introduced BNS are introduction of ‘Community Service’ as one of the punishments in 6 offences, which points towards the reformative approach in the punishment scheme. Some new offences such as ‘organized crimes’, ‘snatching’, ‘mob lynching’, ‘sexual intercourse on false promise of marriage, employment, promotion’ etc. have been added. Certain existing sections such as ‘Section 377’ of the IPC, ‘offence of attempt to commit suicide’, offence punishing ‘adultery’, offence punishing sedition under Section 124A I.P.C have been deleted. However, the offence of sedition seems to have been replaced by Section 152 BNS, which punishes secession and separatist activities or any act which endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. Stringent punishment has been introduced for hit and run cases, terrorist act (now defined in BNS), offence of gang rape of women under 18 years of age. While some of the changes as mentioned above are welcomed, there are certain areas such as non-inclusivity of gender-neutral laws, overlap of certain offences with special laws such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, retention of provision for marital rape which reflects missed opportunity in issues that have been under debate since the inception of IPC.
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The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS)
The BNSS 2023, has replaced Cr.P.C., which had a total of 484 sections, will now have 531 sections. 177 sections have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 14 sections have been repealed. Some of the major changes introduced in BNSS include provisions for preliminary inquiry before registration of First Information Report (FIR), in cases involving a punishment of 03 to 07 years. One of the most significant changes introduced in BNSS are time lines provided for most of the procedures such as, filing of charge sheet has been fixed at 90 days, medical examination of the rape victim needs to be completed in 7 days, the inquest proceeding report is to be completed within 24 hours, committal proceedings are to be completed in 90 days etc. Use of technology and increased emphasis on scientific evidence, such as introduction of e-FIR, mandatory visit by forensic team to visit the scene and conduction of videography for offenses punishable for more than 7 years, trials are allowed to be conducted through video-conferencing etc. Certain provisions have been added, so as to make the Act more victim-friendly. Provisions with respect to bail have been simplified. However, there are certain provisions which will require caution while being implemented, such as, statutory provision providing preliminary enquiry before FIR registration, police custody of 15 days now being authorised in whole or in parts at any time during the initial 40 or 60 days out of the 60 or 90 days period. This could lead to bail being denied during this period if the police argue that they need to take the person back in police custody.
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The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA)
The BSA 2023, which has replaced the Indian Evidence Act, has 170 sections instead of the earlier 167 sections, 24 sections have been amended, 02 new sections have been added and 06 sections have been repealed. “Sakshya” refers to the evidence or a witness. The BSA 2023, has retained most of the provisions of I.E.A. related to confessions before police officers, relevancy of facts, and burden of proof. However, certain issues with regards to technological advancements were unaddressed in the I.E.A. Therefore, some of the significant changes introduced in the new law are related to leveraging the use of technology in collection of evidence. For instance, definition of documents include electronic records such as emails, server logs, electronic documents on computers, laptop or smartphone etc. The definition of the word ‘evidence’ includes information given electronically, which will allow witnesses to depose evidence through electronic means. Under The I.E.A., electronic records were categorised as secondary evidence. The BSA 2023, classifies electronic records as primary evidence and provides that electronic or digital records will have the same legal effect as paper records. Apart from such significant changes, there are certain areas which raises concerns with regards to electronic records being susceptible to tampering and alteration and no safeguards have been provided in the new law to ensure that, electronic records are not tampered with during the search and seizure or investigation process. Despite such concerns, the changes brought in the new law will significantly transform the way in which evidences are collected and admitted during trials.
IV. OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE
Since the three new criminal laws were notified to be implemented in the month of July, 2024, a need has been felt to revisit the working of these laws and the impact they have made on criminal adjudication in the last 9 months of their operation. This offline conference aims to offer a unique platform for diverse stakeholders such as Judges, Advocates, Public Prosecutors, Police officers and law students to examine the effect of the three criminal laws and critically analyse their operation, to suggest reforms. The conference would also have a technical session for presentation of papers.
Therefore, the core objectives of this Conference are to:
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Evaluate the practical impact of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) since their enforcement.
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To identify the challenges faced by the Law Enforcement Agencies, Judges and Legal Practitioners in the implementation of the New Criminal Laws.
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To suggest reforms based on practical insights of key stakeholders.
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To bring together Various stakeholders, such as, Judges, Legal Practitioners, Police Agencies and Law Students for a comprehensive discussion on the New Criminal Laws.
V. CALL FOR PAPERS
The Conference invites full-length scholarly papers (6000-8000 words) on the emerging areas of the new criminal laws, including theoretical, methodological, and empirical investigations, including but not limited to the seminar’s sub-themes. Researchers intending to participate in the conference must submit an abstract clearly denoting the focus area of the paper, research, and relevance to the conference themes. They selected submissions will be presented by the authors at the Technical Sessions of the conference on April 05, 2025 in a hybrid mode.
It is proposed to publish the selected papers in a special issue of Contemporary Law Review.
VI. THEMES OF THE CONFERENCE
The theme of the conference is to assess the implementation of the New Criminal Laws nine months post their implementation, and revisit the reforms that the laws still require. The sub-themes of the National Seminar are only indicative and not exhaustive. We invite and encourage papers from other allied areas of criminal laws.
THEME I: BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023 (BNS)
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Shifting focus from Punishment to Reformation and Justice.
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Reforms in Offences against Women and Children.
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Reforms in Offences Affecting the Human Body and Property.
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Reforms in Offence against the State (Deshdroh) and its impact.
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Need for reforms related to offences against LGBTQ Community.
THEME II: BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023 (BNSS)
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Reforms relating to Investigation, Inquiry and Trial, including technological advancements.
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Reforms relating to Custody, Bail and proclaimed offenders.
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Victim centric reforms.
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Procedural reforms related to Sentencing.
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Reforms to tackle delay in criminal justice system
THEME III: BHARATIYA SAKSHYA ADHINIYAM, 2023 (BSA)
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Reforms relating to Electronic Evidence and cybercrimes.
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Reforms relating to admissibility of Oral, Documentary Evidence, and Hearsay.
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Ensuring witness protection and integrity of testimony.
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Best practices for evidence management.
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Reforms related to role of technology
VII. PROPOSED DATE OF THE CONFERENCE
The One Day National Conference will be organized on April 05, 2025 (Saturday) at Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.
VIII. IMPORTANT DATES
A list of the important dates is as follows:
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Submission of Abstract — March 20, 2025
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Intimation of selection of Abstracts — March 22, 2025
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Last date for Registration — March 25, 2025
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Submission of Manuscript — April 03, 2025
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National Conference — April 05, 2025
VIII. FACULTY COORDINATORS
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Dr. Shilpa Jain, Associate Professor of Law
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Dr. Trisha Mittal, Assistant Professor of Law
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Dr. Divita Pagey, Assistant Professor of Law
Hoping for your kind consideration.
To know more click on Brochure_Criminal Law Conference_SCC
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