As the three new criminal laws were implemented in the country, here's all you need to know about them.
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00:003 new criminal laws came into force across the country from 1st July 2024
00:06The 1860s Indian Penal Code was replaced by Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
00:11The 1861s Code of Criminal Procedure was replaced by the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023
00:18And 1872s Indian Evidence Act was replaced by the Bhartiya Sakshya 2023
00:24With the British era laws all gone, how will India's justice system look like now?
00:29Let me explain
00:30With zero FIR, a person can file an FIR at any police station, regardless of where the
00:40crime took place
00:41There's also no need to visit a police station anymore, as incidents can now be reported
00:46online
00:47All details related to the progress and update in a case will be communicated via SMS
00:52The biggest change has been the extension of police custody, from 15 days to 90 days
00:57Earlier in IPC, offences against the state came before offences against women
01:06But now in Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, crimes against women come before
01:11Under the new laws, the minimum punishment for rape has been extended from 7 years to
01:1610 years
01:17The rape of a girl under 16 years of age can be punishable with life imprisonment, while
01:22rape of a minor girl under the age of 12 is punishable by death
01:26Victims of crimes against women are entitled to receive regular updates on their cases
01:30within 90 days
01:31All hospitals are required to provide free first aid or medical treatment to victims
01:36of crimes against women and children
01:38Another important change is that individuals who engage in sexual relations by deceit,
01:43such as false promises of employment or marriage, without intention to fulfil them, could face
01:49imprisonment of up to 10 years
01:51Road accidents claimed over 1.5 lakh lives in 2021
02:00To combat this, a new provision in the hit-and-run cases has been included
02:04If someone runs over a person by accident and takes him or her to the hospital, they
02:09would face lighter punishments
02:10But hit-and-run cases have higher punishments of jail term up to 10 years
02:19Some additional crimes have been added in the new criminal laws
02:22For the first time, mob lynching has been included as a separate category of murder
02:27A mob of 5 or more committing murder based on race, caste, community or personal belief
02:33can be punished for life or even given a death sentence
02:36This is the first time that the offence of terrorism has been brought under the purview
02:40of the main penal code, instead of falling under a special law
02:43Sedition has been replaced with offences against the state
02:47This includes any person who tries to separate the state or rouses people to do the same
02:51Apart from the inclusions, there are some crimes which are not part of the new criminal
03:00laws, adultery being one of them
03:02It is no longer a crime to have a same-sex relationship
03:05Most of the crimes against children have become gender-neutral
03:09While these were some of the main inclusions and deletions from the 3 criminal bills, it
03:13is important to note that the cases before 30th June 2024 will be treated based on the
03:18previous laws
03:19As of 2023, there are over 5.13 crore pending cases in our country's courts
03:25Out of these, over 3.59 crore cases are criminal
03:28However, many questions are being raised regarding the new laws
03:32The main opposition party, Congress has asked to reconsider these laws
03:36Congress leader Manish Tiwari says that the new criminal laws lay the basis for turning
03:40India into a police state
03:42These should be stopped from being implemented and Parliament should re-examine them
03:46While introducing the laws, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that these laws are crucial