MHA panel starts online consultation of experts on criminal law review

With Covid-19 pandemic restricting movement and meetings, a Ministry of Home Affairs-appointed committee is embarking on an online consultation with experts to recommend wide-ranging reforms in key criminal statutes by looking into aspects like sedition, marital rape and sexual offences.

The online consultation with experts is spread over 83 days, which started on July 4 and ending on September 25.

The MHA had set up the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws, headed by National Law University Vice-Chancellor Dr Ranbir Singh with leading lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani among others as its members, in May this year to undertake a review of criminal laws.

The panel is tasked with recsxommending reforms in a "principled, effective, and efficient manner which ensures the safety and security of the individual, the community and nation and which prioritises the constitutional values of justice, dignity and the inherent worth of the individual".

There will be two each consultation process spreading across days on substantive criminal law, procedural criminal law and Law of Evidence during which experts will be provided with questionnaires online and they will respond in a specific period.

The first expert consultation is on substantive criminal law with regard to changes to be made in the IPC. It started on July 4 and will end this month-end.

Amid a debate over the existence of colonial-era sedition law, one of the questions posed to the experts is about Section 124A (sedition) and whether there is any need for deleting it from the IPC or tone it down.

The committee will also be looking into the introduction of new forms of punishments including principles of restorative justice and applying the revised punishment framework to the offences, reviewing the amounts of fine, identifying offences requiring an addition to the IPC and identifying redundant offences and if possible, studying the feasibility of amending these provisions to increase their relevance among others.

It will also look into aligning provisions of the IPC with SC judgements.

Experts have been asked about the possibility of reducing the minimum age for criminal responsibility from 18 years. At present, a juvenile above the age of 16 years is treated as an adult for rape.

With regard to CrPC, committee will be looking into restructuring the Code with the preferred model of criminal process (due-process/crime-control) that not only protects rights of both the victim and accused but simultaneously ensures public safety and revising foundational definitions and classifications in order to bring the CrPC in line with modern legal developments.

The panel will also look into strengthening the legislative foundations of criminal justice institutions in order to enhance their efficacy and effectiveness while simultaneously limiting abuse of powers, including discretionary powers and reforming provisions pertaining to arrest and bail so as to ensure better regulation of these powers, protection of the due process rights of the accused and the victim and public safety.

Streamlining the trial process, including appeals, such that it ensures the disposal of cases in a time-bound manner while having due regard to the rights of all stakeholders is another area, which the committee will be looking for inputs.

The panel is tasked to provide recommendations to modernise, update and reform the law of evidence to address contemporary and future challenges.

The committee will be addressing divergence of legal opinions on evidence law doctrines such as "fruits of the poisonous tree" and "sealed cover" in light of recent judicial developments.