New Delhi [India], April 9 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a crucial meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in the national capital on Wednesday to review the implementation of the newly enacted criminal laws in the state.
The meeting is expected to focus on the state government's preparedness to implement the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which have replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
Mohan Charan Majhi, who took over as the Chief Minister of Odisha in 2024, is likely to present the progress made by the state in aligning its legal framework with the Centre's directives.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has stressed that effective implementation of the laws will depend on coordination between central and state agencies.
According to an official release, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), 2023 (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) were notified in the Gazette of India on December 25, 2023.
The provisions of BNS, except the provision of sub-section (2) of section 106 and entry relating to section 106(2) of BNS in the first schedule of BNSS, and BSA came into force from July 1, 2024.
The new criminal laws mark a significant step towards empowering Indian citizens. These laws aim to create a more accessible, supportive, and efficient justice system for everyone.
Earlier, Amit Shah said that these laws are in different phases of implementation in all States and Union Territories of the country and once they are fully implemented in 3 years, our criminal justice system will be the most advanced in the World.
He said that technology has been incorporated and interpreted in these laws so that no matter what latest technology comes in the future, there will be no need to change their interpretation.
Shah said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has continuously held more than 160 meetings since August 2019 under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi while making these new laws.
Apart from this, detailed discussions were held with Governors, Chief Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, Administrators, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of High Courts, Bar Council, Bar Association, Law Universities, Members of Parliament and all IPS officers of the country.
Shah said that in these 4 years, the latest technology and provisions of the World have also been studied at many levels and that the criminal justice System of about 43 countries were studied while making these laws.