Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin claimed that the new criminal laws enacted by the central government fall under the concurrent list of the Constitution of India and hence there should have been extensive consultation with the state government.
"The replacement of the above three Acts has been done hastily without adequate deliberations and consultation. These Acts fall under List III – Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and hence extensive consultation should have been done with the State Government," Stalin said. States were not given sufficient time to express their views and new laws were passed by Parliament without the participation of opposition parties, it said in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister said that the names of all three criminal laws are in Sanskrit which is a violation of Article 348 of the Constitution.
“All three Acts namely the Indian Code of Justice (BNS), 2023; the Indian Civil Defense Code (BNSS), 2023; the Indian Evidence Act (BSA), 2023 all have names in Sanskrit which is a clear violation of Article 348 of the Constitution of India.Stalin said in the letter, it is mandatory that all acts passed by Parliament will be in English.
Pointing out some errors in the Acts, Stalin said, "Section 103 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) has two subsections for two different classes of murder but similar punishment. Some more provisions in BNSS and BNS that are ambiguous or self-contradictory."
The Chief Minister also highlighted that the implementation of the three Acts requires detailed discussions with educational institutions and amendments in the curriculum of law courses.
He said, "...implementation of these new laws will require discussions with academic institutions and revision of the curriculum for law college students, which will require substantial time.,
Emphasizing on capacity building for proper implementation of the laws, Stalin said, "Adequate resources and time are required for capacity building and other technical requirements for the stakeholder departments i.e. judiciary, police, prisons, prosecution and forensics."
“It is also necessary to make new rules and modify existing forms and operating procedures in consultation with stakeholder departments, which cannot be done in a hurry,” he said.
Stalin requested the Central Government to review the new Acts and stop the already notified Acts, taking into account the views of all the States and other key stakeholders.
"The replacement of the above three Acts has been done hastily without adequate deliberations and consultation. These Acts fall under List III – Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and hence extensive consultation should have been done with the State Government," Stalin said. States were not given sufficient time to express their views and new laws were passed by Parliament without the participation of opposition parties, it said in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister said that the names of all three criminal laws are in Sanskrit which is a violation of Article 348 of the Constitution.
“All three Acts namely the Indian Code of Justice (BNS), 2023; the Indian Civil Defense Code (BNSS), 2023; the Indian Evidence Act (BSA), 2023 all have names in Sanskrit which is a clear violation of Article 348 of the Constitution of India.Stalin said in the letter, it is mandatory that all acts passed by Parliament will be in English.
Pointing out some errors in the Acts, Stalin said, "Section 103 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) has two subsections for two different classes of murder but similar punishment. Some more provisions in BNSS and BNS that are ambiguous or self-contradictory."
The Chief Minister also highlighted that the implementation of the three Acts requires detailed discussions with educational institutions and amendments in the curriculum of law courses.
He said, "...implementation of these new laws will require discussions with academic institutions and revision of the curriculum for law college students, which will require substantial time.,
Emphasizing on capacity building for proper implementation of the laws, Stalin said, "Adequate resources and time are required for capacity building and other technical requirements for the stakeholder departments i.e. judiciary, police, prisons, prosecution and forensics."
“It is also necessary to make new rules and modify existing forms and operating procedures in consultation with stakeholder departments, which cannot be done in a hurry,” he said.
Stalin requested the Central Government to review the new Acts and stop the already notified Acts, taking into account the views of all the States and other key stakeholders.
