Parliament panel adopts reports on criminal laws

Setting stage for its passage in the Winter Session, a Parliamentary committee on Monday adopted its draft reports on three bills that seek to replace "colonial era" penal and criminal codes and a law related to evidences with recommendations for a change in some of the provisions but sticking to their Hindi names, ignoring demands from the Opposition.

Opposition MPs are expected to submit their dissent notes in next 48 hours, as the panel stuck to the deadline while senior Congress MP P Chidambaram sought three days instead of two for submitting their notes. He also wanted the committee to define community service, but the panel stuck to its draft for adoption.

Sources said Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and DMK's N R Elango have already submitted their dissent notes, most of the remaining MPs are likely to submit it soon. An Opposition MP said that the government wants to rush through the Bill and it has become a “farce”.

MPs like Chidambaram and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien are also likely to submit their dissent notes before the deadline on Wednesday.

Though there were demands from Opposition MPs, including DMK's Dayanidhi Maran, the committee headed by BJP MP Brijlal did not recommend changing the Hindi names of the bills -- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam -- to replace Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act.

Sources said the panel was of the view that there should be more stringent punishment for deaths caused by negligence than that was prescribed in the bill. It also recommended a reduction in sentence for those convicted of deterring public servants from discharging their duties.

The committee is also learnt to have demanded inclusion of a gender-neutral adultery law and punitive measures for non-consensual sex between men, women and transgender people.

Earlier, the meeting was scheduled for October 27 for adopting the report, but it was postponed to Monday after Opposition MPs demanded that the time for studying the drafts were inadequate.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar referred the bills to the panel on August 18 with a deadline of three months. The panel has managed to finish its work well before the deadline, though Opposition MPs have alleged that there should have been more consultation with stakeholders and experts.

In separate letters, Congress MP Chidambaram and Trinamool Congress’ O’Brien had earlier warned against replacing the codes in a rush and highlighting the “negative implications” of doing so.

O’Brien highlighted the “alarming lack of consultation with stakeholders and rush” and warned that a “hasty adoption” of laws that are going to last over 100 years would be “premature and counterproductive”. He said, “this consultative process needs us to rise above narrow partisan interests or short term electoral stunts.”