Criminal Lack of Reforms

The Criminal Reform Committee set up in Ma y 2020 has been shrouded in secrecy. The five-person committee has been criticized for its lack of diversity and its lack of transparency. It’s in keeping with the history of judicial reform.

- Ashutosh Shekhar Paarcha

THE fact that we live in the 21st century, but are governed by laws that are more than a century and a half old makes it obvious that reforms are the need of the hour. Our criminal law is not only one of the oldest laws still prevailing in the country but also one of the oldest criminal laws in the world. There are a total of 351 statues that penalizes one offence or the other. Amongst them are the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC), the Indian Evidence Act (Evidence Act) and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1972 (CrPC) which are the primary substantive and procedural criminal laws in India. Since independence, there have been many attempts made by various governments to bring reforms in criminal laws. The reports of criminal reform committees– the Malimath Committee in 2003 and the Madhav Menon Committee in 2007, were formulated to keep the criminal laws at par with the current need but sadly, the recommendations of these committees were not incorporated for various reasons. The 42nd Law Commission Report 1971 also recommended some major amendments which were never adopted by parliament. The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 and the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2018 are recent examples of efforts made by the legislature. The most recent is the Criminal Reform Committee set up in May 2020. While the Home Ministry has been tight-lipped about details, the 5 person committee has been highly criticized for its lack of diversity and transparency among other things. The committee was initially established to recommend changes in IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act but has now been given a back door entry to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS). The committee has to submit its report in 6 months. The recommendations, if implemented, are expected to have a significant impact on the people, the judiciary and the executive, should they be backed with proper research and contemporary requirements.