District Judiciary Kupwara holds training programme on ‘3 new Criminal Laws’

KUPWARA, JUNE 27: The District Judiciary Kupwara in collaboration with District Legal Services Authority (DLSA)Kupwara, today organised a training programme for advocates on the ‘03 Criminal Laws’ at Conference Hall Bar Association, Kupwara.

The purpose of organizing this programme was to generate awareness and bring out the highlights of the 3 criminal laws, to facilitate meaningful interactions through technical and Q&A sessions and to provide an opportunity for the advocates, public prosecutors, stakeholders to participate in the discussions.

The programme had the presence of Shazia Tabasum, Principal District and Sessions Judge (PDSJ) and Chairperson (DLSA) Kupwara, Jahangir Rafiqi, Public Prosecutor Kupwara, Bar Members District Court Kupwara. The training programme also witnessed overwhelming participation of Members of Bar Association Kupwara and other participants.

Addressing the gathering, Shazia Tabasum, emphasized that the three new laws have been enacted to overhaul the criminal justice system in the country. She said that the Government of India has taken several initiatives to repeal archaic colonial laws and usher in legislation which are citizen centric and cater to the requirements of a vibrant democracy.

The new legislations i.e. the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, replace the earlier criminal laws namely, the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, were also underscored by her.

She also highlighted the key provisions of the new laws and their positive impact on women and children and on the overarching objectives of the new criminal law triad.

In-depth discussions centered on adopting a comparative approach to assess the implementation of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), salient aspects of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) i.e. on evidence, a cornerstone in adjudicating guilt, widened scope of ‘documents’ and ‘evidence,’ facilitated by the introduction of comprehensive definitions.

Ramifications of the procedural changes introduced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) on investigation of crime by police officers, and infusion of ICT tools which has practical implications for the functioning of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies was also held.