With the new criminal laws implemented across the country, police personnel and advocates of Manipur took part in a two-day orientation programme on three new criminal laws, which began on Saturday at City Convention Centre in Imphal.
About 400 participants consisting of judicial officers, police officers from all the districts, paramilitary forces, public prosecutors, members of BAR, panel advocates, remand advocates, legal aid defense counsels, media persons, officers/representatives from Home Department, Law Department, Forest, Customs, NCB, NIA, Law College, Forensic Science are participating.
The existing law codes, Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act, which are around 160 years old have been replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
According to the new laws, a complainant can file a complaint online and the police will have to lodge an FIR as per facts, without jurisdiction. Further, the FIR copy must be provided to the complainant.
However, in the old law, an FIR required the complainant to visits a police station or contact the concerned police officer over the phone.
Moreover, murder cases were lodged under Indian Penal Code section 302, but it will now lodge under BNS section 101.
Also, the old laws gave the police a 60 to 180 days’ window for investigation and filing charge sheet, with no obligation to share any details with the complainant but according to the new laws, the police must update investigation regularly within 90 days’ window period to probe the case and file a closure report.
During the second day of the two days orientation programme, Shruti Jane Eusebius, Research Fellow National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, as resource person spoke on the topic “Changes, developments & challenges in Terror related offences in the New Criminal Laws” while Rajasekhara N, director, CDTI, Hyderabad spoke on the topic “Review of BNSS, Addition, Deletions & Modifications” as resource person.
W Tonen Meitei, Judge, Family Court, Thoubal; A Tarunakumari Devi, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal West; M Manojkumar Singh, joint director, Manipur Judicial Academy and Ch Momon Singh, lecturer, LMS Law College, Imphal also took part as moderator of the programme.
It should be mentioned that on the first day of the programme, RK Memcha Devi, Judge, Family Court, Imphal East and Ningthoujam Lanleima, District & Sessions Judge, Imphal East spoke on the topic “Trial Procedure under BNSS” and “Additional offence under BNS and objective for the introduction of BNS” respectively as resource persons.
Sarungbam Mangaleibi, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Imphal East and Neera Sinam, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kakching spoke on the topic “Pre-trial procedure under BNSS” and “Seizure & Preliminary Enquiry under BNSS” respectively.
