Chandigarh: Mixed reactions among lawyers on new criminal laws

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana Bar Council has sought suggestions from its members about the new criminal laws that are coming into force from today. In a message to the members of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, Bar Council Chairman Ashok Singla has requested them to read the new laws carefully and discuss it with fellow members. “If they have any suggestions about these new laws and its implementation, they can send them to the Bar Council for taking them up at the appropriate level,” he said. The council has over one lakh members in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Meanwhile, a mixed response was seen among advocates of Chandigarh district courts to the new criminal laws.

Advocate Rajesh Sharma said that all the three laws, the Indian Judicial Code, the Indian Civil Defence Code and the Indian Evidence Act, focus more on technology, recognising the validity of information given electronically. “Electronic communication will now be treated at par with traditional personal statements,” he said. He said witnesses, accused, experts and victims have also been allowed to give statements along with evidence through electronic means. He said that for this the court needs to have high quality video conferencing facility in all the courts. Another advocate Amit Kumar Khairwal said that though many new things in the new laws are good, there are some problems in allowing witnesses to appear through video conferencing. He said, “It has to be ensured that the witness is giving statement freely without any pressure through video conferencing.” Ajay Jagga, another advocate, said that there is a need to spread awareness about the new laws on a large scale. He said that the government should provide adequate training and resources to the agencies responsible for implementing the new laws, including updating legal professionals, organizing workshops and providing continuous support to ensure that law enforcement officials are well prepared to implement the changes correctly and efficiently. He said that although police officers have been given the relevant training, no such training has been given to lawyers yet.