PIB hosts media ‘Vartalap’ on three new Criminal Laws

GANGTOK,: Press Information Bureau (PIB) Gangtok on Friday organised a media workshop ‘Vartalap’ for the local journalists and law students of Sikkim focussing on the three new criminal laws - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023.

Akshay Sachdeva, Special DGP (Law & Order), Sikkim Police, gave the keynote speech on the three reformative criminal laws that have come into force from July 1, 2024 which have replaced the archaic Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act.

Addressing the well-attended event, the Special DGP (Law & Order) spoke on why the colonial era criminal laws – after five years of exhaustive deliberations - were replaced by the new criminal laws which are tailor-made to address the contemporary societal challenges with greater focus on providing justice to the victims.

Definitive timelines have been given to the police, public prosecutors, advocates and judges regarding updating the complainants on the status of their FIRs, framing of charges and judgement pronouncement, and ultimately it benefits the society, shared Sachdeva. He shared other reformative provisions in the new criminal laws like e-FIR, zero FIR, treating gang rape as a gender-neutral offence, digitization of records and importance given to forensic evidences.

The Special DGP highlighted the stringent punishment for mob lynching, and crimes committed against women and children, reflecting the government’s commitment to protect vulnerable sections of the society. He also responded to queries placed by the media fraternity regarding the new criminal laws, underscoring the importance of clear communication and collaboration between law enforcement and the media in promoting public awareness about legal reforms.

Prof. Praveen Mishra, Head of Law Department, Sikkim Central University, also shared his insights to the gathering on the new criminal laws. He maintained that these new criminal laws were the result of five years of extensive discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, and rejected claims that these laws were made in haste.

The victims have been heard with these three new criminal laws which were important that people were gradually losing hope on the system as cases were stretching for 15-20 years, said Prof. Mishra, adding that now there are timeframes given to every agency concerned, be it the police or the judiciary.

Press Club of Sikkim president Bhim Rawat thanked the PIB Gangtok for organising the media workshop on this vital subject for the benefit of the local journalists of Sikkim.

Dr Ibomcha Sharma Aribam, assistant director, PIB Gangtok and Regional News Unit head, Akashvani, presented the welcome address. He expressed that journalists being ‘force multipliers’ would be ably sensitizing the masses on the reforms enacted through Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023.

The vote of thanks was given by PIB, Gangtok official Shovan Kumar Mitra.