Skip to main content

India overhauls criminal code, alarming rights campaigners

India’s parliament on Thursday rushed through the country’s biggest criminal justice overhaul since the British colonial era, alarming rights campaigners who say the new laws give authorities too much power.

Sweeping changes to the colonial-era Penal Code and two other laws remove archaic references to the British monarchy, redefine the scope of “terrorism” offences, and introduce new punishments for mob lynchings and crimes against women.

Home Minister Amit Shah said when unveiling the three proposed laws in August that the old statutes had been designed to “strengthen colonial rule” and had outlived their purpose.

“The motive of the three bills is not to give punishment but to give justice,” he told lawmakers on Thursday.

The new laws quickly passed through both houses of parliament over two days with minimal debate, after nearly 150 opposition lawmakers were suspended over the past week for protesting an unrelated issue.

New provisions in the laws would impose the death penalty on perpetrators of mob lynchings and the rape of a minor, as well as a 20-year minimum sentence in cases of gang rape.

They introduce community service provisions for petty crimes to ease the chronic backlog in Indian courts, which have millions of pending cases.

The laws also heighten police powers over the detention of suspects and expand terrorism offences to include acts that could threaten India’s sovereignty or “economic security”.

Amnesty International said the new criminal justice framework would intensify a “targeted crackdown on freedom of expression in the country”.

The laws “dangerously broaden the definition of ‘terrorism’, reintroduce sedition, retain the death penalty, and extend police custody”, the rights watchdog said.

India’s Penal Code and other statutes governing the police and courts were introduced in the 19th century, while the country was governed by the British crown.

The legal overhaul is the latest effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government in its campaign to remove lingering symbols of colonial rule from India’s history books, urban landscape and political institutions.

Modi’s government has passed a number of laws through parliament this week while more than half of the legislature’s opposition lawmakers were barred from attending.

They had been protesting a security breach last week that saw a member of the public enter the floor of the lower house and set off a smoke canister.

Parliament also passed a telecoms bill that allows the government to temporarily take control of and suspend telecom services in the interest of national security.

The new telecoms law’s expanded powers have been criticised by campaigners who say India already regularly uses internet shutdowns to manage unrest.

Lawyer and digital rights advocate Apar Gupta told AFP that the law would uphold the government’s power to shut down the internet “without any statutory safeguards”.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/BeWr5VG

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...

Bangladesh appoints Mushtaq Ahmed spin bowling coach ahead of T20 World Cup

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday appointed former Pakistan leg-spinner and World Cup winner Mushtaq Ahmed as the Tigers’ spin bowling coach ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. “He will join the side ahead of the preparation camp later this month for the T20 series against Zimbabwe and will work with the Bangladesh team until the end of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA,” the BCB said in a press release issued today. Mushtaq said it was a great honour for him to be a part of the Bangladesh cricket team as a spin bowling coach. “I am looking forward to the role and want to pass my experience to the players because they are very coachable and I always believe that they are one of the most dangerous teams around,” he said. “They can beat anyone because they have the capability, the resources and the talent,” he said, adding that he would attempt to instil that belief into them and was “very excited” at the opportunity to work with them. Ahmed wa...