NEW DELHI: To examine the execution of three new criminal laws in the nation’s capital, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah conducted a review meeting with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday.

The implementation and present state of many new regulations pertaining to police, prisons, courts, prosecution, and forensics were examined during the conference.

Senior representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Delhi government were present, along with the Union Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary of the National Capital Territory, the Commissioner of Delhi Police, the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), the Director of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), and others. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam are the three new statutes.

These laws were conceived with the Prime Minister’s intention of reforming the judicial system by reorienting the emphasis from punishment to justice and replacing colonial-era legislation that remained in force after independence. The Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act were the three outdated criminal statutes that were superseded by them when they went into effect on July 1, 2024.

During his speech, Shah said that the three new criminal legislation will improve police accountability and efficiency at the local level. To guarantee officials’ responsibility in the application of these new criminal legislation, HM issued directions. Shah underlined the need for close attention to detail and rigorous adherence to the deadlines for submitting charge sheets within 60 and 90 days.

He further ordered that efforts be made to raise the conviction rate by at least 20% in instances involving severe offenses. Shah also called for the Directorate of Prosecution to expedite the appointment process and ensure that the Directorate of Prosecution itself makes decisions regarding appeals in any case. He also stated that e-Summons should be issued directly from courts, with copies sent to local police stations.

Laws from the colonial period will be replaced by new ones.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned these rules as a way to overhaul the legal system by putting more emphasis on justice than punishment and to replace colonial-era legislation that remained in force after independence. They took effect on July 1st, 2024.