New criminal laws will provide justice rather than punishment: Prez

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said the three new criminal laws, which are slated to come into force from July 1, will provide justice rather than punishment, which was the mindset during the British regime.

• TO COME INTO FORCE FROM JULY 1

Addressing the first joint sitting of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha following general elections, she said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 will speed up the judicial process. These laws, enacted last year, are set to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.

“The Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita will come into force in the country from the 1st of July. During the British regime, there was the mindset to punish the subjects. Unfortunately, the same penal system of the colonial era continued for many decades after Independence,” she said.

The President said the idea of changing criminal laws was much talked about for many decades, but it is this government which has shown the courage to do it. “Now justice will get priority over punishment, which also conforms to the spirit of our Constitution,” she said.

When the country is becoming free of the colonial mindset in different aspects, this is a big step in that direction, she said. “It is also a real tribute to our freedom fighters.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in Parliament last year that the new laws will give priority to providing justice in place of the outgoing British laws that gave primacy to penal action. Shah said the laws were not just about changing the nomenclature but would bring about a complete overhaul of the prevailing laws. He said the “soul, body and spirit” of the new laws is Indian.

The President said that people of India have given a clear and stable mandate to the Modi government for a third time.