Achi news desk-
SRINAGAR: J&K Judicial Academy organized a two-day training program on “New Criminal Laws” at J&K Judicial Academy, Mominabad, here today for Judicial Officers of Kashmir State and UT Ladakh, Prosecuting Officers, Police Officers and Officers of Forensic Science Laboratories in Kashmir State including J&K and Ladakh High Court Research Assistants in Srinagar Wing.
The training programme, organized under the stewardship of Chief Justice, J&K and Ladakh High Court, Justice N Kotiswar Singh, was inaugurated by Justice Sanjeev Kumar, Judge, J&K and Ladakh High Court in the presence of Sakal Bhushan, a prominent lawyer from Jammu . now practicing in the Supreme Court of India who is the resource person in the training program.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar, in his opening address, pointed out that the earlier Indian Penal Code, as the name suggested, was to punish the Indians. He said that the overhaul of these laws is a long awaited demand from the society and the government said that this is the right time to revoke these laws. The government entrusted the job of reforming criminal laws to Professor Ranbir Singh, the founder Vice-Chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi, who is the Chairman of the Committee for reforms in Criminal Laws. The Committee was made to focus on the safety, security and welfare of Indians and the integrity of the nation. He also gave an overview of the three new laws; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) highlighted that these new laws are in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution and have been introduced in accordance with the aspirations of ‘us the people’.
Elaborating further Justice Kumar said that British era laws were aimed at punishing and enforcing loyalty to foreign rule whereas Indians are the soul of new laws and for the first time our criminal justice system will be governed by Indian laws, made by the Indians and for the India. He further highlighted that these new laws are not only to punish but to give justice with equal consideration to rehabilitate the victim and provide justice to one and all, especially the weak and marginalized.
Justice Kumar added that the new way of inflicting punishments such as community service reflects a change in public sentiment. It is not only about punishing people but also about making them realize and do something constructive for the community. He emphasized that the idea is to make them learn from their mistakes and contribute positively to society. He described the BNSS to be aimed at providing a faster and more efficient justice system to address issues of delay, massive dependency, low conviction rates, minimal use of technology in the legal system and insufficient use of forensics. He further lamented that all these changes in laws would not work unless there was a corresponding upgrade in the infrastructure.
Director, J&K Judicial Academy, YP Bourney, delivered the welcome address and highlighted the core of the programme. He said that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 11, 2023, with the main aim of overhauling the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860, as well as two other bills aimed at replacing’ r Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
He emphasized that the Act proposes significant changes, including the simplification of some IPC provisions to reduce its length. It also introduces new offenses such as hate speech and terrorism. In addition, the Act replaces the subjugation with a more severe offense of treason. He described that BNS, 2023, not only replaces the old Penal Code but also consolidates legal provisions that make the crimes against women and children more severe in order to better administer justice.
He further added that by following these progressive laws, we as a nation can work towards a criminal justice system that upholds the rule of law, protects human rights, and effectively serves the needs of its diverse population especially the poor and the marginal.
The work sessions on the first day were chaired by Sakal Bhushan, Advocate, who said in his opening remarks, that he was not only here to address the participants but that he expected questions from them regarding the subject’s programme. He gave a detailed overview of additions, deletions, modifications and reorganization of chapters and sections under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023(BNSS). The learned resource person discussed various newly added provisions and those amended provisions for the benefit of the participants.
All the sessions continued to be very interactive where all the participants took an active part and shared their experiences, difficulties and also discussed different aspects of the subjects. They also raised a number of questions which were satisfactorily answered by the resource person.
