Karnataka govt opposes new criminal laws, says Centre did not take suggestions
Bengaluru, Jul 1: The Karnataka government on Monday opposed the three new criminal laws, which came into force on July 1, saying the Centre did not take its suggestions into consideration.
The three laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replacing Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act should have been implemented by the BJP government during its previous tenure itself and not now, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said in a press conference
The Minister recalled that in 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote to CM Siddaramaiah asking him to review and give suggestions on these laws.
Based on the Chief Minister’s direction, an expert committee was formed. The panel submitted a report to Siddaramaiah, which was forwarded to Shah.
ALSO READ: Karnataka police registers first case under new penal code
“We gave a total of 23 suggestions but the central government did not take any of it seriously. No opinion of ours is included in it. Now, the new codes have been duly implemented,” the Minister said.
“These three laws have been promulgated ignoring public opinion and the suggestion of the legal luminaries. Thus, our government opposes these three laws."
According to Patil, the new penal codes have more disadvantages than advantages along with some confusing amendments.
He also charged that the Centre has no moral rights to implement the three laws now.
“The three laws have been changed and new laws have been implemented. Any government that makes a law has the right to enforce it during its tenure. However, it is an unethical and politically absurd move to implement after the end of the government's tenure,” Patil said.
“The decision made by the cabinet of the previous government is not right to be implemented now. They had the right to enforce it in their previous term itself."
Patil noted that the replacement of these laws with the original ones is equivalent to the amendment of the Constitution and hence all precaution should be taken during the enforcement of this law.
To a query, the Minister said the state government is empowered to amend laws. There is an opportunity to make amendments exercising the constitutional rights.
Explaining the scope for amendment, Patil said, “Fasting in protest against the government action is an offense, but suicide is not a crime in this law. This is unfortunate. It is an insult to the freedom struggle. In this regard, we will bring an amendment on fasting.”
The Karnataka government had suggested to the Centre to amend the law to prosecute those who show disrespect to the father of the nation, national emblem and tricolour but it did not agree. In this regard, the state government has contemplated an amendment, the minister noted.
The new law gives investigative agencies unilateral and discretionary powers to prosecute individuals for the organised crime.
Further, he pointed to a provision for three years imprisonment and fine for hurting the national integrity.
The Act will be amended for cyber crime, hacking, financial crime, nuclear weapons secrecy and sabotage through technology, he explained.
The minister pointed out that under the new Act, police custody is allowed for 90 days, which is a long period. Hence, the amendment has to be made to minimise the duration of police custody, he added.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
