Tamil Nadu to amend new criminal laws, forms panel to suggest changes

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which replaced the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act, came into effect on July 1.

A senior official of the state’s Law Department, when contacted, told The Indian Express the state government believes “there are some errors in certain basic sections.”Tamil Nadu has been opposing the new criminal laws ever since they were passed by Parliament last December, saying all the states were not consulted. On June 17, nearly two weeks before the rollout, Stalin wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah pointing out the need for amendments.

Last week, Karnataka’s Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state would be making “23-25 amendments” to these laws.

Tamil Nadu has also raised objections to the names of the new laws being in Sanskrit “which is not the tongue of the common people, who will have to use these Acts to get justice”, another Law Department official said.

Criminal laws are part of List III of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Article 246 (1) of the Constitution empowers both state Assemblies and the Parliament to make laws on subjects in the concurrent list.

However, when a state law and a central law on the same subject are in conflict, Article 254 (1) states that the state law shall “be void,” to the extent of repugnancy.

Additionally, the state law on a subject in the concurrent list needs the assent of the President.