Delhi Police poised to enforce new criminal laws; 25,000 personnel imparted training

New Delhi: Delhi Police is all set to implement the three criminal laws in the national capital starting July 1, with the completion of training of 25,000 personnel, officials said on Thursday.

It has also launched a dedicated application -- 'E Pramaan' -- for carrying out procedures under the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) to help its personnel record videos and audio of search and seizures related to the crime, they said.

This app, being handled by the crime branch, will help cops to directly feed the content to the police record which will help in the further investigations, they added.

According to a senior police officer, all the FIRs of the cases lodged on and after July 1 will be registered under section 173 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in place of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The sections under Indian Penal Code (IPC) will replaced by BNS (Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita) and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 by BSA, according to the new criminal laws, the officer said.

Delhi Police has imparted training to its 25,000 personnel from the ranks of assistant sub-inspectors and inspectors to assistant commissioners of police (ACP) and deputy commissioners of police (DCP), who are responsible for registering the FIRs and conducting investigations.

According to officials, Delhi Police is among the first force in the country which started training its personnel regarding the new criminal laws.

In January this year, a 14-member committee was constituted to study the laws and prepare the study material for its personnel.

The committee was led by Special Commissioner of Police Chhaya Sharma and comprised DCP Joy Tirkey, Additional DCP Uma Shankar and other ACP, inspector and SI ranks officers.

Speaking to PTI, Sharma said the personnel training began in February and was held in a phased manner.

"Initially, we gave training to over 8,000 personnel from different units such as the crime branch, economic offences wing, railways, Delhi metro. They were then tasked with training the officers in their respective districts and units," Sharma said.

She said the training will continue to be imparted to lower subordinates at district and police stations level.

The special CP added that around 736 'nayab' courts and around 50 jail superintendents have also been trained on the new laws.

According to another police officer, the sections of CrPC and IPC will be applicable for the cases lodged on or before June 30 and their FIRs registered on or after July 1.

For instance, if a cheating committed on June 29 and it is reported after July 1, the case will be registered and investigated under IPC and CrPC, he explained.

The charge sheets in the cases that occurred before July 1 will be filed according to the CrPC, however after July 1, they will be done under the procedure of BNSS.

The Delhi police have given booklets to their officers with old sections of CrPC and IPC and their corresponding sections under the BNSS and BNS on the same page, officials said.

These booklets will help police personnel with handy information about the new laws, they added.

The police have also filed some dummy FIRs and conducted their trial investigations to help officers get the idea of the complete procedure one the new laws are effective. It has been under practice in several districts, the officer said.

Another officer said once the laws come into force, the Delhi police will have to tweak some of their orders and circulars, which were issued for the force.

The officer said under the new laws, about 20 new crimes have been added and in 33 criminal cases, the quantum of punishment has been increased.

The main features of the new laws include: mandatory zero FIRs going forward; mandatory forensic team inspections in cases with punishments exceeding seven years; introduction of community service as a new punishment; and empowering the police to invoke MCOCA against small syndicates.

Delhi has 15 police districts and around 200 police stations in them. It has a strong force with the capacity of 95,000 police personnel.