New criminal justice laws signify watershed moment for our society: CJI

New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Hailing the enactment of the new criminal justice laws as a watershed moment for society, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said India is set for a significant overhaul of its criminal justice system. Speaking at a conference here on ‘India’s Progressive Path in the Administration of Criminal Justice System’, he said the new laws would be successful if those, who are in charge of implementing them, adapt to them. These new laws have transitioned India’s legal framework on criminal justice into a new age, the CJI said. He also said much-needed improvements have been introduced to protect the interests of victims and carry out investigation and prosecution of offences efficiently. “India is set for a significant overhaul of its criminal justice system with the upcoming implementation of three new criminal laws… These laws signify a watershed moment for our society because no law affects the day-to-day conduct of our society like the criminal law. “India is set for a significant overhaul of its criminal justice system with the upcoming implementation of three new criminal laws…These laws signify a watershed moment for our society because no law affects the day-to-day conduct of our society like the criminal law,” he said.

“The enactment of these laws by Parliament is a clear indication that India is changing and on the move, and needs new legal instruments to deal with the current challenges,” the CJI said. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta were also present at the conference. The new laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act — to completely overhaul the country’s criminal justice system will come into effect from July 1. However, the provision related to cases of hit-and-run by vehicle drivers would not be implemented immediately. The three laws got Parliament’s approval on December 21 last year and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25.

Referring to 248th Report of the Standing Committee of the Rajya Sabha on the Bharatiya Sakshya Samhita, the CJI said Indian criminal justice system has struggled to keep pace with the profound technological changes our socio-economic milieu that have radically re-imagined the way in which crimes manifest in the society.

“The growing scope of technology and new age crime which use the digital landscape to create networks of collaborative units to commit crimes cannot be pinned to an investigative situs. This has presented challenges in investigation of crimes, admission of evidence and prosecution as well as justice delivery,” he said.

CJI Chandrachud said the new laws have transitioned India’s legal framework on criminal justice into the new age and have introduced much needed improvements to protect victim interests and carry out the investigation and prosecution of offences efficiently.

“The BNSS encompasses a holistic approach to deal with crimes in the digital age. It prescribes audio visual recording of search and seizures and the presence of a forensic expert at the crime scene for offences punishable with more than seven years imprisonment.

“The audio-visual recording of search and seizures is an important tool for the prosecution as well as for protecting the civil liberties of citizens. The judicial scrutiny would safeguard the rights of citizens against procedural impropriety during search and seizures,” he said.

CJI Chandrachud said we must continuously introspect and protect the privacy of the accused as well as the victim when dealing with digitisation of proceedings and creating digital evidence.

“In the digital age, the data and sensitive information of person’s has gained paramount importance. This data can allow us to gain unparalleled efficiency and ease. However, the power which comes with personal data puts a corresponding duty to make systems which are immune to penetration and leakage of the data,” he said.

On the challenges of data leak in courts, the CJI said the safety of a person, the stigma attached to an accused, the threat perception of a witness will be compromised if the privacy of the stakeholders is not protected.

“We must inspire public confidence in securing the privacy of our citizens to gain an overall efficiency and trust in the criminal justice system. Technology holds the key to a futuristic court system,” he said.

While the new criminal laws create provisions which are synchronised to our times, the CJI said we must also ensure that the infrastructure accompanying these procedures are developed adequately for the country to reap the benefits of the new laws. “This naturally means that we must heavily invest in capacity building of our forensic experts, conduct training of investigating officers, and invest in our court system. Key provisions of the new criminal law would only produce a positive impact if these investments are made as soon as possible,” he said. CJI Chandrachud said our attention must be focused on improving investigations by allowing for multi-disciplinary investigating teams with law enforcement officers, and domain experts in the field of cyber-crime, and pattern recognition. “I expect that with the implementation of the new criminal laws, we will discover loopholes and areas which need to be addressed. Such debates would be helpful in enhancing the efficiency of our criminal justice systems. However, the ideological framework at the heart of our analysis must be justice oriented with a civil liberty centric approach which balances the interests of the victim and the accused,” he said.