The Union Home Ministry is setting the stage to implement three new criminal laws from July 1, with a comprehensive awareness campaign aimed at educating citizens about the significance and impact of these legislations. According to official sources, over 40 lakh grassroots level functionaries have been trained to spread awareness about the laws, particularly among women and children. Additionally, over 5.65 lakh police, prison, forensics, judicial, and prosecution officials have been trained on the new laws.
The new criminal laws, which replace the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act, emphasize the role of technology in investigation, trial, and court proceedings. To ensure a seamless transition, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has made 23 functional modifications to the existing Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS) application. The NCRB is also providing technical assistance to states and union territories for the successful implementation of the new system.
As part of the capacity building efforts, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has developed training modules and conducted 250 training courses, webinars, and seminars, training over 40,000 officials. Furthermore, the BPR&D has trained a total of 5,84,174 officials, including police officers and personnel from prison, forensics, judicial, and prosecution.
Three New Criminal Laws with Comprehensive Awareness Campaign
To reach a wider audience, the ministries of women and child development, rural development, and panchayati raj have organized webinars, training over 40 lakh grassroots level functionaries. The Department of Legal Affairs has also organized conferences in state capitals, with delegates from diverse fields, including the Chief Justice of India and judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed applications, eSakshya, NyayShruti, and eSummon, to facilitate videography and photography of crime scenes, judicial hearings, and court summons electronically. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken initiatives to give wider publicity and awareness about the new criminal laws, including “Vartalaps” media workshops, special programs on public broadcasters Doordarshan and Akashvani, and uploading informative flyers on the MyGov social media handles.
The sources confirmed that the states and union territories are fully geared up in terms of technology, capacity building, and awareness generation to implement the new laws. The legislations were passed by Parliament in its winter session in 2023 and received presidential assent and notification in the Gazette of India on December 25, 2023.
