Copy, cut and paste 'reform'

Many legal scholars have thoroughly examined the three Bills that will replace the IPC, Evidence Act and CrPC. We found that 90-95% of the provisions of the IPC were cut and pasted in the new draft... Reform of laws is a good idea; reform of a law does not mean re-arranging or re-numbering the existing provisions

- P Chidambaram 

THE INDIAN PENAL Code, 1860, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, constitute the trinity of criminal law. The author of the IPC was Thomas Babington Macaulay who chaired the first Law Commission.

Sir James Fitzjames Stephen was the author of the Evidence Act. The first CrPC of 1898 was repealed when the 1973 Act was passed.

The three laws are applied everyday in hundreds of courts throug out the country.

Thousands of judges and over 150,000 lawyers (the bulk of whom practise on the criminal side) thumb through the three Acts practically every day. Every judge or lawyer knows that Section 302 of the IPC is 'punishment for murder'.

They know that under Section 25 of the Evidence Act a confession made to a police officer cannot be proved against an accused. They also know that the provisions for anticipatory bail and bail are contained in Sections 437,438 and 439 of the CrPC. There are several dozen provisions of the three Acts that judges and lawyers know by heart'.

Reform opportunity missed

Reform of laws is a good idea; reform of a law does not mean re-arranging or re-numbering the existing provisions. There must be an overarching philosophy of what should be the criminal law in the present time and circumstances. The law must be in tune with changing values, morals, mores and aspirations. Salutary developments in modern criminology, criminal jurisprudence penology must be suitably reflected in and the new law.

Provisions re-arranged