Commencing July 1, 2024, the Union Government has announced the enforcement of three recently enacted criminal laws: Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
These laws will replace the existing Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, having been passed by Parliament on December 21, 2023.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in its revised form, includes offences like acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities, or endangering the sovereignty or unity. Notably, the sedition law now explicitly defines acts of terrorism, a term absent in the previous Indian Penal Code (IPC). The new legislations also grant magistrates increased authority to impose fines and broaden the scope of declaring someone a proclaimed offender.
