Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has called upon the central government to “withhold” the implementation of three new criminal laws set to take effect from July 1, urging a comprehensive review and consultation process involving all states and key stakeholders.The new legislations — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — are set to replace the existing Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Stalin criticized the Union government for enacting these laws “in haste without adequate deliberations and consultations.”
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Stalin emphasized that these enactments fall under List III, the concurrent list of the Indian Constitution, necessitating extensive consultations with state governments before passage. He noted that the states were not given sufficient time to express their views, and the laws were passed by Parliament without the participation of opposition parties.
Stalin also pointed out that naming the new acts in Sanskrit — BNS 2023, BNSS 2023, and BSA 2023 — violates Article 348 of the Constitution of India, which mandates that all acts passed by Parliament must be in English.
“There are some fundamental errors in the enactments,” Stalin wrote. He highlighted that section 103 of the BNS has two subsections addressing two distinct classes of murder but prescribing the same punishment. He also noted that some provisions in the BNSS and BNS are ambiguous or self-contradictory.
Stalin argued that implementing these new laws would require thorough discussions with academic institutions and revisions of the syllabus for law students, necessitating adequate time. Additionally, sufficient resources and time are required for capacity building and technological upgrades for key stakeholder departments such as the judiciary, police, prisons, prosecution, and forensics.
“I request the union government to review the new enactments after taking into consideration the views of all the states and other key stakeholders and withhold the aforesaid enactments already notified,” Stalin concluded in his letter.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s appeal underscores the need for a more inclusive and deliberative process in enacting significant legislative changes, ensuring that all relevant perspectives and implications are thoroughly considered.
