Criminal law in concurrent list, state legislature competent to make amendments: Chidambaram
New Delhi(PTI): Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's decision to appoint a committee to suggest state-specific amendments to the three new criminal laws and asserted that criminal law is a concurrent list subject which makes the state legislature competent to make amendments.
He also stressed that criminal laws that are in consonance with modern principles of criminal jurisprudence must be enacted.
"I welcome the decision of the government of Tamil Nadu to appoint a Committee to suggest state amendments to the three criminal laws that came into force on 1 July 2024," the former home minister said in a post on X.
Criminal Law is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution and the state legislature is competent to make amendments, Chidambaram said.
"I also welcome the appointment of Justice (retd) Mr K.Sathyanarayanan as the one-person Committee. I request the Committee to hold consultations with all stakeholders including judges, lawyers, police, law teachers, scholars and human rights activists," he said.
Taking the first step to effect Tamil Nadu-specific amendments to the new criminal laws, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday ordered setting up of a one-man committee, to be led by the retired High Court judge, to study the three laws and make recommendations to the state government over making amendments.
After chairing a high-level consultative meeting at the Secretariat here to deliberate on state amendments to the central laws, Stalin directed officials to set up a one-man panel to be led by retired judge of the Madras High Court, Justice M Sathyanarayanan.
The panel would study the new laws to propose amendments including 'state-level name change' for the three laws.
"This committee will clearly examine the new laws, hold consultations with stakeholders including advocates at the state-level and submit a report (on state-level amendments) within one month to the state government," an official release said.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
