Former CJI Among Experts Suggested By Oppn MPs For Briefing Panel Examining Criminal Justice Bills

As a parliamentary committee examines the three bills to replace the existing criminal justice laws, opposition MPs have suggested a list of experts, including ex-CJI UU Lalit and former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur, for briefing the panel on the matter, sources said.

An opposition MP in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, which is examining the bills to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act, has submitted a list of 16 experts that also includes senior advocate Fali S Nariman and advocate Menaka Guruswamy.

It was also suggested that experts being called should include Supreme Court and High Court judges, members of Bar Councils, legal scholars, prison officials and reform activists, ethnic and religious leaders and cybercrime experts among others.

Another opposition MP in the panel, meanwhile, pointed out that at the current speed of the scrutiny, it would take at least one and a half years to go through the three proposed legislations.

At the same, opposition MPs have stressed that the process should not be rushed as the three laws will have long-term implications.

Certain aspects of the new bills were also welcomed by the opposition MPs, like the provision for zero FIR and making online the whole procedure – from filing a complaint to its disposal.

Earlier, opposition MPs had complained about not being provided adequate opportunity to speak, and about the way the minutes of meetings were being recorded. On Wednesday, two opposition MPs spoke and another MP was given time to speak in the next meeting of the panel.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs is examining the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023; and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 that were introduced by the government on the last day of the Monsoon session to replace Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act.

The standing committee has to submit its report in three months, to table the Bills in the Winter Session of Parliament.