Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
In a complete overhaul of colonial-era criminal laws, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three Bills in Lok Sabha to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860; The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (originally enacted in 1898); and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
The Bills — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, to replace the IPC; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, for CrPC; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023, for the Indian Evidence Act — were referred to a standing committee.
From a new provision on mob lynching, punishable by seven years imprisonment or life imprisonment or death penalty; to enabling speedy justice through video trials, e-filing of FIRs; expanding the definition of sedition; bringing corruption, terrorism and organised crime under the penal laws; introducing community service and solitary confinement as new forms of punishment; holding trials in the absence of an accused; and expanding the scope of offence against women pertaining to sexual intercourse by employing “deceitful means” — the new Bills provide for substantive changes in criminal jurisprudence.
Invoking freedom fighter Khudiram Bose, he said they would achieve the objective of removing a “mentality of servitude” — one of the five pledges (“paanch pran”) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned in his Independence Day address last year.
In Parliament
New bill on CEC, ECs won’t affect order of precedence (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The status of the Chief Election Commissioner would not change, even though the government has proposed to equate the salary of the members of the Election Commission of India with that of the Cabinet Secretary as opposed to a Supreme Court judge.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal Thursday introduced the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha, for setting up a committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet minister nominated by the PM for selecting the CEC and ECs.
The Bill also repeals the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, which had equated the salary of the ECI members to that of a Supreme Court judge.
The source said keeping in mind the profile of the ECI, there was “no change” in the order in the Table of Precedence, in which the CEC remains as number 9A, with Supreme Court judges at 9.
The Table of Precedence, maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, gives the order for different office-bearers for ceremonial purposes.
The Cabinet Secretary is listed at number 11. The source added that the basic salary of both a Supreme Court judge and the Cabinet Secretary is Rs 2.5 lakh a month.
Bills to levy 28% GST on online gaming passed (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today introduced bills to amend the Central and Integrated GST laws to levy 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs.
The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were introduced by Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests over suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House.
Friday is the last day of the monsoon session of Parliament. Once the amendments to CGST and IGST laws are passed, states will get similar amendments in state GST law cleared by the respective assemblies.
The amendments pertain to insertion of a provision in the Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity on the taxation of supplies in casinos, horse racing and online gaming.
The amendment in IGST Act relates to inserting a provision to impose GST liability on online money gaming provided by offshore entities. Such entities would be required to get GST registration in India.
Express network
Hate speech unacceptable: SC for panel to look into cases (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Rooting for communal harmony in Haryana’s Nuh and Gurgaon, which had witnessed tension recently, the Supreme Court on Friday termed the developments “unacceptable” and said the onus was on all communities to maintain peace.
A Bench headed by Justice Sanjeev Khanna also said that people having to run to courts every time an instance of hate speech happens is not going to solve the problem and wondered if an internal mechanism in the form of a committee under the Director General of Police to vet such complaints should be put in place.
All communities are responsible. What is to be done in such a case? This is not acceptable”, Justice Khanna said while hearing an application referring to alleged hate speeches in the wake of the clashes.
The bench also directed journalist Shaheen Abdullah, who is the petitioner in the case, to collate all material, including videos, and submit to the nodal officers appointed in each state in pursuance of its October 21, 2022 judgment.
Appearing for the applicant, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said calls to boycott a community were made in the aftermath of the violence. Stressing that people need to be protected, he said such vitriol cannot be allowed to go unchecked.
Editorial
State’s strong arm (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
India is going through a transformation from an incomplete and ongoing project of democracy, living with the imperfections of democratic practice, to a surreal sense of having achieved democracy by discarding many practices that would normally be associated with it.
While we await indigenously minted theorisations arguing how non-democratic practices make a democracy, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves of the many departures and distortions India’s democracy is in reality experiencing.
Take the case of the bulldozer as a symbol of democratic government. It is not very often that elected governments and leaders seek to present themselves as being extra-tough and even vindictive towards citizens.
In fact, the idea of minimum government (with maximum governance) emanates from the need to reduce unnecessary and intrusive regulation.
A government that has to use physical coercion frequently or in an exemplary manner and exhibit it as tough action to restore law and order should be clearly seen as departing from the democratic norm. But this is no more in New India where new norms of governance are evolving.
Both physically and metaphorically, the mode of bulldozer governance is upon us. As we celebrate yet another Independence Day, it might be worthwhile to ask whether citizens have any energy and agency left in them to even mull over this form of governance and what it represents.
Explained
The bills in perspective (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
There is a disjunct between the manner in which these Bills are being presented and their actual content. They are far from being an overhaul that will be the panacea for issues that plague India’s criminal justice system.
Large parts of these three Bills simply reproduce existing provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act.
That is not to say that there aren’t changes — but it is difficult to see how these changes will have any real impact on the deep crisis within India’s criminal justice system. Further, some of the changes reflected in these Bills present serious concerns.
During the pandemic in May 2020, an Expert Committee was constituted to undertake public consultations and make recommendations.
That process of consultation left a lot to be desired in terms of its composition, and the modes of participation that it adopted. There were also concerns about the limited perspective from which it was approaching the issue of criminal law reform.
There was no real information on the methodology that the Expert Committee adopted to process and analyse the submissions that were received.
The Committee’s recommendations to the Government of India are not in the public domain — it is in fact, possible that there is a divergence between the Committee’s recommendations and the contents of the Bills that have been tabled in Parliament.
Key provisions and processes proposed n bill to replace CrPC (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 proposes several important changes to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which guides the criminal justice system.
From technological changes to allow trials via video-conferencing to allowing handcuffs for the arrest of persons in some cases including murder, rape, and counterfeit currency — these are some of the main changes proposed in the CrPC.
Trials, appeal proceedings, recording of depositions including those of public servants and police officers, may be held in electronic mode, the Bill states.
The statement of the accused too can be recorded through video-conferencing. Summons, warrants, documents, police reports, statements of evidence can be done in electronic form.
The search and seizure of articles and properties, the visit to a crime scene by a forensic expert, and the recording of the victim’s statement shall be audio-videographed, preferably on a mobile phone.
The name and address of an arrested accused and the nature of the offence will be maintained by a designated officer in each police station and district, and shall be “prominently displayed” including in digital mode in every police station and district headquarters.
Information to police too can be sent electronically, and it shall be taken on record on being signed by the person sending it, within three days.
Economy
Factory output at three month low on slow manufacturing, high base effect (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Factory output slid to a three-month low of 3.7 per cent in June, primarily due to a slower growth in manufacturing output and a high-base effect, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Manufacturing, which accounts for 77.6 per cent of the weight of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew by 3.1 per cent in June as against 12.9 per cent in the year-ago period and 5.8 per cent in May.
In absolute terms, the IIP stood at 143.4 in June, up from 138.3 in the year-ago period, but was sequentially lower than 145.1 seen in May this year. Manufacturing output stood at 141 in June, up from 136.8 in the year-ago period but lower than 142.4 in May.
According to the IIP data, 14 out of the 23 sectors in manufacturing registered a contraction in June, with food, textiles and electronics amongst the significant non-performers.
In terms of the use-based industries, infrastructure industries recorded better output with growth of 11.3 per cent while consumer durables fell by 6.9 per cent.
However, there is still stagnation in consumption, with the first quarter consumer goods output showing a contraction of 2.8 per cent.
Cumulatively, for the quarter factory output grew 4.5 per cent compared with 12.9 per cent growth in the year-ago period.
In 2022, growth was pushed up by the base effect in 2021 when the second phase of lockdown was imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Experts said the third quarter will be crucial for the manufacturing sector and factory output is expected to be around 5 per cent in the near term.
Global community must collaborate to restructure debt: FM (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the global community must find ways to coordinate on restructuring the debt of vulnerable low-and-middle income countries.
Speaking at the G20 Finance Track seminar on ‘Global Economy: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward’, she said the escalation of debt issues in vulnerable economies poses significant economic risk to their sustainable development.
The international community must collaborate and find stronger ways to coordinate debt restructuring for low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries facing debt distress.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). India will hold the G20 Presidency till November 30, 2023.
Sitharaman said the Indian G20 Presidency has placed great importance on the management of the global debt vulnerabilities.