India’s criminal justice system is undergoing a major churn. The legal edifice built by the Britishers is being replaced brick by brick, with laws that are in sync with modern times and Indian conditions. Home Minister Amit Shah and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju are the architects, and have been brainstorming for the past one year to bring about this paradigm shift. In focus are the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
On April 18, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, ushering in the first big change. Opposition parties and critics called the legislation “draconian” and “unconstitutional”, and said it could be used to create a surveillance or police state. Policymakers and law enforcement bodies, on the other hand, called it a progressive law that brings Indian agencies at par with their counterparts in the US or the UK.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, for instance, has a centralised database of even shoe prints. “The US Secret Service has a database on almost every article today. Digital prints are available for everything from a shoe and wall paint to a deleted tweet,” said senior IPS officer Muktesh Chander, former director of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre in Delhi. With this, sleuths can match the shoe prints at the crime scene with their central database, identifying the makers and when that particular shoe was sold from which outlet in which part of the country.
“India needs to keep pace with the changing times where the five big technology giants like Google already have a database of individuals,” said Chander. “We have only taken a baby step in that direction.”
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A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict
SAHEB LOSES STEAM
Coalition dynamics and poor electoral prospects continue to diminish Ajit Pawar's political stock
