Supreme Court Rejects PIL Against Three New Criminal Laws

The Supreme Court declined to entertain a challenge against three new criminal laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Act—which are set to be implemented from July 1. Chennai resident T Sivagnanasambandan’s PIL regarding the matter was dismissed by a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra due to lack of locus standi.

The PIL, which named the Union ministries of Home and Law and Justice as respondents, sought to contest the newly enacted laws aimed at overhauling the country’s criminal justice system. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Act, approved by Parliament on December 21 and receiving presidential assent on December 25 last year, are slated to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.