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.
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“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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Jaishankar to travel to Pakistan to attend SCO summit
New Delhi (PTI): India on Friday announced that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in mid-October.
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years that India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Pakistan is hosting the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16.
The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad in December 2015 to attend a conference on Afghanistan.
The announcement on Jaishankar's visit was made by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
"The external affairs minister will lead our delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16," he said at his weekly media briefing.
The spokesperson clarified that the external affairs minister is travelling to Pakistan only to attend the SCO summit.
In August, Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO's summit.
Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan assumes significance as it is seen as a major decision on New Delhi's part.
The decision to send the senior minister is seen as a display of India's commitment to the SCO which has been playing a key role in boosting regional security cooperation.
The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019 announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.
Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India after New Delhi abrogated Article 370.
India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such engagement.
Pakistan's then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India in May 2023 to attend an in-person meeting of the foreign ministers of SCO nations in Goa.
It was the first visit of a Pakistani foreign minister to India in almost 12 years.
The SCO council of heads of government conclave is the second-highest platform in the grouping.
The SCO heads of state summit is the top most forum in the grouping that is generally attended by the Indian prime minister.
The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
India was the chair of the SCO last year. It hosted the SCO summit in the virtual format in July last year.
India's association with the SCO began in 2005 as an observer country. It became a full member state of SCO at the Astana summit in 2017.
India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Pakistan became its permanent member along with India in 2017.
