Home Ministry to Overhaul Indian Penal Code

Union Home minister Amit Shah called for a nationwide consultation to revamp Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Home Ministry has written to all States and UT’s seeking suggestions to amend various sections of the IPC. Two committees comprising legal luminaries have also been constituted by the Ministry to revamp ‘British-era’ IPC.

Crux of the Matter

1. Home Minister Amit Shah has asked Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) to amend various sections of the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC) after seeking suggestions from experts across the country.

2. He asserted that the police system needs to be modernised to be able to combat modern day challenges. The idea behind the overhaul is that the ‘master-servant’ concept envisaged in IPC should change. After it was framed, the IPC has never been amended in totality.

3. The ministry feels the Criminal justice system based on century-old outdated laws has led to harassment of people by the government agencies and also put pressure on the judiciary, thus the home minister is highlighting and stressing on the need of modernisation of police force

4. The primary function of the original IPC act was to maintain the stability of the british Empire and thus now more emphasis is on institutionalising efficient systems and best policing practices with this revamp.

Curiopedia

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted in 1860 on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the Chairmanship of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. It came into force in British India during the early British Raj period in 1862. However, it did not apply automatically in the Princely states, which had their own courts and legal systems until the 1940s. The Code has since been amended several times and is now supplemented by other criminal provisions. After the partition of the British Indian Empire, the Indian Penal Code was inherited by its successor states, India and Pakistan. More Info

Curated Coverage

1. The Print – Macaulay IPC radical in 19th century but time to shift power toward Indians

2. The Hindu – Centre all set to revamp British era Indian Penal Code

3. The Hindu – A road map for criminal justice reforms

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