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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced that the state will 'completely' roll out the new criminal laws within the next six months. This came following a review meeting in the North Block with Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the implementation process of the new provisions.
Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis shared that Maharashtra has already made significant strides in implementing the new laws and mentioned that 27 vans have been deployed to enhance forensic infrastructure for cases older than seven years. Additionally, he stated that the state has established online systems for courts, but under the new provisions, dedicated and designated cubicles needed to be set up in courts and forensic labs. Furthermore, Fadnavis said that 90 per cent of Maharashtra's police force, which consists of 2 lakh personnel, has already been trained to implement the new laws. "Today, Union HM Amit Shah called a review meeting regarding the three criminal laws... The HM reviewed how we are working on the new provisions in the laws. On behalf of the state of Maharashtra, we informed him we have deployed 27 vans for the forensic infrastructure for cases older than seven years... We have established online systems for courts, but according to the new law, we have to set up a designated, dedicated and notified cubicle in courts and forensic labs. We have started working on this, and it will be completed in the next 6 months," the Maharashtra CM stated. "Cases will be heard in court via videoconferencing, and the accused will not have to be presented in court time and again... It was a good meeting... We will completely roll out the new laws in the next 6 months," he added. The three new criminal laws come under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023. These laws were conceptualised with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace colonial-era laws that persisted post-independence and to reform the judicial system by shifting the focus from punishment to justice. The new criminal laws, which were implemented nationwide on July 1, 2024, aim to make India's legal system more transparent, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of contemporary society. These landmark reforms represent a historic overhaul of India's criminal justice system, bringing in new frameworks to tackle modern-day challenges such as cybercrime and organised crime and ensuring justice for victims of various offences. According to the Union Home Minister, Chandigarh became the first city in the country to fully implement the new criminal laws. (ANI)
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