The Centre Withdrew Three Criminal Law Bills from Lok Sabha

BNS excluded Section 497 of the IPC

Penalities to be levied on mob lynchings

The Centre Withdrew Three Criminal Law Bills from Lok Sabha, Introduced Revised Drafts Aligning with Parliamentary Panel Recommendations and Substituted “Mental Illness” with “Unsound Mind” in the Bhartiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) 2023. 

The Parliamentary panel, led by BJP MP Brij Lal, emphasised the need for the term “unsound mind” over “mental illness” citing concerns about the broader implications of the latter. “The committee recommends replacing the term ‘mental illness’ with ‘unsound mind’ throughout this Sanhita due to concerns the current terminology could pose challenges in the trial phase.  The existing wording may allow an accused person to claim intoxication due to alcohol or drugs during the crime, resulting in immunity from prosecution even if the offence occurred without intoxication,” stated the panel’s report.

BNS excluded Section 497(criminalised adultery) of the IPC following the 2018 Supreme Court ruling which had decriminalised adultery. However, the committee voiced apprehensions about the necessity of preserving the provision to uphold the sanctity of the institution of marriage, suggesting potential adjustments to address concerns related to gender discrimination.

The new bills encompass significant changes in criminal jurisprudence, ranging from introducing penalties for mob lynching, including imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death penalty, to facilitating swift justice with video trials and e-filing of FIRs, expanding the scope of sedition, incorporating corruption, terrorism, and organized crime into penal laws, introducing community service and solitary confinement as novel forms of punishment and allowing trials in the absence of an accused among other provisions.