research topics in criminal law in india

20 Criminal Law Research Topics India

20 Criminal Law Research Topics India – Criminal law is an important aspect of the Indian legal system. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, is the primary statute that governs criminal law in India. It sets out the various offences that are punishable under Indian law, along with their respective punishments. There are a wide range of research topics in criminal law that scholars can explore in India. Here are 20 such topics:

The role of plea bargaining in Indian criminal law
The effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent in India
The impact of custodial violence on the criminal justice system in India
The role of forensic evidence in criminal investigations in India
The legal framework for juvenile justice in India
The efficacy of the Witness Protection Scheme in India
The impact of police brutality on human rights in India
The rights of prisoners in Indian jails
The role of technology in combating cybercrime in India
The impact of gender-based violence on Indian society
The effectiveness of the Narcotics Control Bureau in curbing drug abuse in India
The role of the National Investigation Agency in combating terrorism in India
The legal framework for white-collar crime in India
The impact of communal violence on Indian society
The effectiveness of the Indian Evidence Act in criminal trials
The impact of the Prevention of Corruption Act on corruption in India
The role of alternative dispute resolution in criminal cases in India
The impact of plea bargaining on the rights of victims in India
The effectiveness of the Criminal Procedure Code in ensuring a fair trial in India
The impact of the Right to Information Act on the transparency of the criminal justice system in India

30 Criminal Law Research Topics India

30 research paper topics in the field of criminal law in India:

IMPACT OF RECENT AMENDMENTS IN INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC): Analyze the changes in IPC on Criminal Law in India.
Cyber Crime Law in India: Examine the legal framework and challenges to combat cyber crime.
Criminal Justice System Reforms: Assess the need for reforms in the Indian criminal justice system.
Death Penalty in India: Examine the controversy surrounding the use of death penalty in the Indian legal system.
Women Safety and Rape Laws: Analyze the effectiveness of laws and measures aimed at improving women safety.
Police Brutality and Accountability: Explore examples of police brutality and mechanisms for police accountability.
Juvenile Justice Act: Evaluate the rehabilitation and reform aspects of Juvenile Justice Act.
Criminalization of Marital Rape: Discuss the need for criminalization of marital rape in India.
BAIL SYSTEM IN INDIA: Analyze the functioning of the bail system and its impact on the criminal justice process.
Witness Protection Laws: Assess the adequacy of witness protection laws in India.
Criminalization of Hate Crimes: Discuss legal measures to address and prevent hate crimes.
Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act: Study the legal framework of drug related offenses in India.
White-Collar Crime Laws: Examine the laws and regulations governing white-collar crime in India.
Child Trafficking Laws: Analyze the legal framework to prevent child trafficking.
Criminal Liability of Corporations: Explore the liability of corporations in criminal cases.
INSANITY AS A DEFENSE: Examine the legal provisions relating to insanity as a defense in criminal cases.
Criminalization of Homosexuality: Discuss the legal status and implications of criminalizing homosexuality.
Victim Compensation Schemes: Evaluate the effectiveness of Victim Compensation Schemes in India.
Criminalization of Triple Talaq: Analyze the legal implications of criminalization of instant triple talaq.
Criminal Defamation Laws: Discuss the pros and cons of criminal defamation laws in India.
Human Trafficking and Illicit Trafficking (Prevention) Act: Study the legal framework to prevent human trafficking.
Criminal Law and Mental Health: Explore the intersection of criminal law and mental health issues.
CRIMINALIZATION OF ANIMAL CRUELTY: Examine the legal provisions relating to animal cruelty and their implementation.
CRIMINALIZATION OF DRUG POSSESSION FOR PERSONAL USE: Analyze the legal approach to drug possession for personal use.
Environmental Crimes and Laws: Examine the legal framework for addressing environmental crimes.
Right to Privacy and Criminal Investigations: Discuss the implications of the right to privacy on criminal investigations.
Terrorism Laws in India: Study the legal measures to combat terrorism in India.
Criminal Law and Technology: Explore the impact of technology on criminal law in India.
Restorative Justice in India: Assess the potential of restorative justice practices in the Indian criminal justice system.
LEGAL AID AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE: Examine the availability and effectiveness of legal aid in India’s criminal justice system.

These topics cover a wide range of issues in Indian Criminal Law and you can choose one that matches your interests and research objectives.

Each of these research topics presents an opportunity for scholars to delve deeper into the workings of the Indian criminal justice system. They can help shed light on various issues and challenges that exist in the system and provide insights into potential solutions. For example, researching the role of plea bargaining in Indian criminal law can help identify ways to reduce the burden on the courts, while also ensuring that justice is served.

Similarly, studying the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent in India can help policymakers make more informed decisions on this controversial issue. Likewise, researching the impact of police brutality on human rights in India can help identify measures to prevent such abuses and ensure that the police function within the boundaries of the law.

In conclusion-

criminal law research in India can help advance our understanding of the criminal justice system and the challenges it faces. By focusing on topics such as those outlined above, scholars can contribute to the ongoing efforts to improve the system and ensure that justice is served for all.

1 thought on “20 Criminal Law Research Topics India”

Will u plz send me the Research paper on Narcotic drugs and psychotropic Substances

National Journal of Criminal Law

research topics in criminal law in india

About the Journal

National Journal of Criminal Law aims to publish manuscripts relating to a wider knowledge of law and order in the society for protecting the life and liberty of people. People place their ultimate belief in Criminal law for protection against all injuries that humans can inflict on individuals. The National Journal of Criminal Law has been so designed as to generate critical thinking among students, practitioners and eminent academicians about the stated objectives of criminal law and to enable them to scrutinize the recent developments and changes that have taken place in the field.

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A critical analysis of the offence of dowry death, analyzing wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement.

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Advancing Progressive Reforms in Criminal Justice and Corrections System in Indian Context

A glance at the ‘confession’ under indian evidence act, 1872, make a submission.

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Dissertation Topics in Law for LLM Students

Updated on
May 9, 2023

Dissertation Topics in Law for LLM Students-03 (1)

The last academic challenge before the completion of your postgraduate degree is a dissertation or thesis. Many students pursuing LLM are often confused while deciding the correct topic for the dissertation as it requires a lot of research. To help you with the dissertation this blog contains ideal law dissertation topics for LLM in India. Keep reading to know more!

This Blog Includes:

How to choose the best dissertation topic, advantages of choosing a good dissertation topic, criminal law dissertation topics, international law dissertation topics, family law dissertation topics, employment law dissertation topics, international commercial law dissertation topics, law dissertation topics india, intellectual property law topics in dissertation, constitutional law topics in dissertation, sports law topics in dissertation, medical law topics in dissertation, commercial law dissertation topics, company law dissertation topics, tort law dissertation topics, eu law dissertation topics, the english legal system and constitutional and administrative law dissertation topics.

A lot of research and hard work is required to decide what is a correct and valuable topic for the dissertation or thesis. It is seen in various students that before graduation the dissertation is the last hurdle in the way. It is advised to pursue a topic after valuable research and most importantly that goes with the student’s interests.

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Indian Journal of Criminology

About the journal.

The Indian Society of Criminology (ISC) was established in the year 1970, with the objectives of advancing the study and application of Criminology and Allied Sciences, for the welfare of the society. It also endeavoured to facilitate cooperation among persons interested in the prevention and control of crime, which has escalated over time. Over a short span, the ISC developed into a pioneering National organisation, due to the cumulative efforts of its dedicated founders. The society was initiated by professionals, namely, Professor T. E. Shanmugam; Mr. Pitchandi; Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer; Mr. Pon Paramaguru, IPS; Professor K. Chockalingam; and Mr. K. Mani. Lately, this enterprise has extended and decided to promote Criminological education and advanced Research in the area of Criminology, and it is in this spirit that the Indian Society of Criminology (ISC) organises an International Conference every year, at different locations. A platform that has now become a major attraction for budding Criminologists, to shape their thinking and invite interest towards the interdisciplinary field of Criminology.

The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab was established by the State Legislature of Punjab by passing the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab Act 2006 (Punjab Act No. 12of 2006). The Act incorporated a University of Law of National Stature in Punjab to fulfil the need for a Centre of Excellence in legal education and research in the modern era of globalization and liberalization. The University also has an experienced and highly dedicated team of faculty members and researchers.

Centre for Criminology, Criminal Justice and Victimology, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law and Indian Society of Criminology have signed a MOU, for joint publication of Indian Journal of Criminology in September 2021.

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Submission of the articles is a continuous process and has no specific dates for both the issues published bi-annually. Accepted articles if not published in the first issue, will be placed in the next issue. Contributor(s)/Author(s) shall be sent an acceptance letter, based on the peer-reviewed acceptance process. Soft copy of the article shall be sent to the Author(s) of the accepted manuscripts, for their kind references. However, the print copy may be purchased by sending a demand for the same, at [email protected] .

All communication regarding Journal may be addressed to: [email protected]

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Current Issue

Editorial Article Transport and Crime: An Account of Crimes against Women in Cabs in the Delhi/NCR Region G.S. Bajpai and Garima Pal

Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTU): Critical Analysis of Experiences and Opinions of Functionaries’ Rajkamal Ajmeri and Leena V. Mehta

Transnational Gold Smuggling in Chennai International Airport: A Content Analysis R. M. Arivazhagan and Dr. Syed Umarhathab

Analysis of Indian Legal Framework for Protecting Children’s Online Privacy Against Select Emerging Information Technology Challenges Anand N. Raut

Anxiety Among Police during Covid-19 Panademic Janaki. M. C. and Anilkumar. S

An Analysis of Interaction between Victims of Domestic Violence and their Advocates in Jodhpur Laksheeta Choudhary and Rufus D

‘Power-Over’ versus ‘Power-With’ Model of Policing in India: An Inductive Research With Reference to the Role of the Police in Pandemic Dr Ahmed Raza

Crime Opportunity Theories and Covid-19: Lessons from Lockdowns Stuti Rai

Book Review: Shannon E. Reid & Matthew Valasik. Alt-Right Gangs. A Hazy Shade Of White. University Of California Press. ISBN: 978-0520300453 (Paperback). 202 Pages. $27.50 Rajub Bhowmik and Wayne A. Wallace

Obituary: Prof. Dr. Y. C. Simhadri (1941 – 2021) Prof. Sudhakar Yedla

VOL-49, ISSUE-1, 2021

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India Law Research

Vlex database, free & open internet, government: executive, government: legislature, government: judiciary, journals and periodicals, international encyclopedia of laws, additional resources, getting help, quick links.

Below are quick links to our most popular resources for India research. More detailed instructions for using these resources are located further down in the guide.

HOLLIS Library Catalog
Indian Kanoon Database
Manupatra Database
SCC Online Database

Introduction to Researching the Law of India

The Sovereign, Democratic, and Republic state of India (also known as Bharat) has been a free nation since it declared its independence from British rule in 1947. It adopted its constitution on January 26,1950. In addition to outlining the powers of the branches of government, the constitution defines protected fundamental rights (see Part III), and outlines the policy directives of the state and the fundamental duties of Indian citizens (see Part IV). With more than 450 articles, India has the longest constitution of any sovereign nation in the world.

India is governed by a federal parliamentary system. In addition to the Central Government, each of the country's 28 states has its own government. There are also eight Union Territories (UTs) administrated by Central Government appointees. For information about each of the states and UTs, along with links to their respective government websites, visit https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/ .

As is the case with other former British colonies, India has a common law legal system that recognizes the principles of judge-made law and stare decisis.

The Harvard Law School Library has an extensive print collection of historical and current primary and secondary sources researching the law of India. In addition, the library subscribes to two databases: Manupatra and SCC Online . This guide provides instructions and tips for navigating these resources.

A quick introductory video on the features of this guide is below.

Photo: Supreme Court of India, taken by Jennifer Allison on Dec. 14, 2019.

The Harvard Library Catalog: HOLLIS

Use the HOLLIS online library catalog (http://hollis.harvard.edu) to find print and electronic materials in Harvard's libraries, including the law library.

This guide includes links to HOLLIS searches that use either general keywords, Library of Congress Subject Headings , or both. HOLLIS search links in this guide appear in this format:

HOLLIS search: "India" AND "Law OR Legal"

Most searches are deliberately broad. Limit the search results by adding additional keywords to the search query, refining the results using the options listed on the right side of the HOLLIS screen, or both.

Historical Research: The HLS Library's Moody Call Number System

In the past, the Harvard Law Library used a proprietary classification system for foreign materials, the Moody System. To learn more about it, visit https://guides.library.harvard.edu/moodysystem .

You should know about this system if you are doing historical legal research in our collection for India. Many older materials in the library's offsite storage facility (which cannot be browsed by researchers) still have Moody call numbers, even though the library switched to using the Library of Congress classification system for foreign materials several years ago.

Moody Call Numbers

Call numbers in this system are compiled as follows:

The call number starts with a code for the jurisdiction (for India, it's "IN")
The first number represents form or type of material (for a list of these numbers, see https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=309924&p=2070177 )
The second and third numbers represent the subject of the material (for a list of these numbers, see https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=309924&p=2070178 )
At the end of the call number is a three-letter abbreviation of the author's name.

Browsing by Moody Call Number in HOLLIS

For example, if you would like to browse the older treatises about the criminal law of India in our collection, do this:

1. Go to https://hollis.harvard.edu/ .

2. Above the search box, click STARTS WITH/BROWSE .

3. In the Browse by drop-down menu, click Call Number - Other .

4. In the search box, enter IN 980 (Note: this means "India + Treatises [900] + Criminal Law [80]")

5. Click Search .

Bluebook Citation Rules for Legal Sources from India

The Bluebook's citation rules for primary law materials from India are available online at https://www.legalbluebook.com/bluebook/v21/tables/t2-foreign-jurisdictions/t2-18-india .

These rules indicate preferred case law reporters by court, as well as instructions for citing the constitution and legislation.

Manupatra Subscription Database

Manupatra is a subscription legal database for India. It includes both primary sources (judicial opinions, statutes and other legislative materials, administrative agency materials, and more) and secondary sources (including treatises and law journals).

To access Manupatra:

Sign in with your HarvardKey at https://hollis.harvard.edu .
Go to http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990104767090203941/catalog and click the ONLINE ACCESS link.

You should see the homepage of the Manupatra database, which looks like this:

Homepage of the Manupatra Indian Law Subscription Database

Searching and Browsing in Manupatra

To browse by source type, use the menu on the left side of the screen.

To search, click one of the options in the blue search bar at the top of the screen:

Manu Search : Search the database using keywords.
Legal Search : Advanced search option, using forms with fields, for judgments, statues (acts), rules, and other types of sources.
Citation Search : Use this option to search for a case if you have a citation to a case law reporter, such as All India Reporter (AIR), Indian Law Reports (ILR), SCC (Supreme Court Cases), or Weekly Law Notes (WLN). Coverage also includes regional court reporters, such as the Bombay Cases Reporter (BomCR), Calcutta Law Journal (CLJ), Delhi Law Times (DLT), and many others. To view a coverage list of reporters, visit http://www.manupatrafast.in.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/Search/Publishers.aspx .
Assisted Search : Provides a form to assist with crafting searches using Boolean connectors.

Search Example

As an example, assume that you have the following information about a case from the Bombay High Court:

State vs. Panduran Tatyasaheb Shinde, AIR 1956 Bom 711.

Find this case in Manupatra as follows:

Click Citation Search .
In the Publisher menu, select AIR(Bombay) .
In the Year box, enter 1956 .
In the Page Number box, enter 711 .
Click Search .

You will see one result. Click the link provided to view the case.

SCC Online Subscription Database

SCC Online is a subscription legal database. You can browse or search for cases from a wide variety of Indian courts, including the Supreme Court, the Privy Council, high courts, district courts, and tribunals and commissions. It also includes selected case law from other jurisdictions in the region, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and from several African jurisdictions. SCC online also includes other Indian legal materials: acts and rules, articles, secondary sources, treaties, and more.

Access SCC Online as follows:

Go to https://hollis.harvard.edu and sign in with your HarvardKey credentials.
Go to this HOLLIS record: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/99153820291903941/catalog .
Click the ONLINE ACCESS link.
On the SCC Online homepage, click LOGIN in the upper right corner.
Select the IP login option, and enter your Harvard email address.
When the SCC Dashboard screen appears, click the type of search you want to do. You may have to do this quickly to avoid being signed out. If you are not sure what to click, click the third blue box labeled Find by Citation .

You should now be on the main search screen. If this is not the type of search you want to do, return to the dashboard by clicking the icon with 9 little boxes in it at the top of the screen. The dashboard provides all the options you need for finding cases by citation, party name, or topic, in addition to browsing law reports, judgments, acts and rules, secondary materials and more.

Note that SCC Online can be hard to log into. If the directions above do not work for you, here are a few things to try:

Clear the cache and cookies on your browser.
Use a different internet browser (if you are using Google Chrome and it's not working, try it in Firefox).

If you tried all those things and it's still not working, contact a research librarian for help ( https://asklib.law.harvard.edu ).

Harvard's subscription to the vLex database includes the following materials for India:

Laws and Regulations
Books and Journals

To access vLex, go to its HOLLIS catalog record: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990104683840203941/catalog . Then, click the ONLINE ACCESS link.

To go to the India materials, click Browse in the menu on the right side, then All Jurisdictions > Asia > India.

Materials from India appear throughout vLex. For example, vLex includes cases and legislation from India in the citing references for UK cases.

HeinOnline Subscription Database

HeinOnline's resources for researching the law of India include the following:

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP): Search for "India" as a Subject
World Constitutions Illustrated: India

Free Databases for Indian Legal Research

Indian Kanoon Free database of Indian legislation and case law, offering simple and advanced search options as well as a way to browse by individual court and tribunal.
Legal Information Institute of India (LII) Links to primary and secondary sources for Indian law.

Google Searches for Materials on Government Websites

Most Indian government websites are in the "gov.in" domain. You can search for materials on government websites using Google using this query format:

"circulars" site:gov.in

This search will return all sites that include the word "circulars" on Indian government sites. ("Circular" is a name used for a document that a government entity releases to describe its activities.)

Some Indian government sites are in the "nic.in" domain ("NIC" is the Central Government's National Informatics Centre ). So if your "gov.in" domain search does not return the results you are looking for, try the same search using "nic.in" instead.

According to Part V, Chapter I of the Indian Constitution , the head of state is the President , who appoints the members of the Council of Ministers (headed by the Prime Minister ) and the judges who serve on the Supreme Court .

The executive branch also includes the following:

Union Ministries (including the Ministry of Law and Justice )
Union Government Departments (including the Department of Legal Affairs )
Commissions (including the Law Commission of India )

The executive has certain powers related to legislation. For example, the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice drafts legislation for the Central Government. Other ministries also contribute to the drafting of bills based on their subject matter.

Under Article 123 of the Indian Constitution, the President can enact ordinances when Parliament is not in session. These ordinances can only become permanent law if the Parliament approves them after returning from its recess.

Finding Executive and Administrative Materials

HOLLIS Searches

HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Delegated Legislation"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Gazette"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Government" AND "Circulars"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Ministry OR Department OR Commission" (in the "Author" field)
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Record" AND "Office" (in the "Author" field)

Electronic Resources

The Gazette of India Bilingual (English and Hindi) publication of government activities. e-Gazettes are available here for the Central Government and for State Governments.
National Government Services Portal This site provides information about the services that various government entities (Central Government and State Governments) offer to the the people of India. You can browse by service type or search for a service.

According to Part V, Chapter II of the Indian Constitution , legislative power vests in a Parliament , which includes:

The President
The Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
The House of the People (Lok Sabha)

Finding Legislation

Historically, Indian national and state legislation has been published by a lot of different entities under a lot of different names. This means you may need to do several HOLLIS searches to find the publication that has the law you are looking for.

The searches below include various ways Harvard's library catalogers have named and described Indian publications that include legislation.

HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Acts of Parliament"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Central Acts"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Central Legislature"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "State Acts"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Statutory Rules"
HOLLIS Search: "Law" AND "India" AND "Statutes and Codes"
HOLLIS Search: "Law and Legislation" AND "India"
HOLLIS Search: "Laws, etc." AND "India"
HOLLIS Search: "Laws of India"
HOLLIS Search: "Statutes of India"

In addition to the subscription databases Manupatra and SCC Online, there are several freely-available online sources for Indian legislative materials.

Bare Acts Live (Chawla Publications)
India Code: Digital Repository of All Central and State Acts
LEGIS Database of Acts Database of acts, bills, and ordinances - maintained by the Supreme Court Judges' Library.
List of Central Acts Maintained by the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice; available in chronological and alphabetical order.
Ministry of Law and Justice Legislative Department: Legislative References Includes a list of the Acts of Parliament (1838-2019), and links to the text of ordinances promulgated, President's Acts, Central Regulations, and Orders issued under the Constitution of India.
National Portal of India: Acts/Rules
Parliamentary Research Service (PRS)

Part V, Chapter IV of the Indian Constitution establishes the Union Judiciary, at the head of which is the Supreme Court of India .

As India is a common law jurisdiction, opinions issued by the Supreme Court are binding on all other Indian courts (see Art. 141).

India's judiciary is also comprised of regional courts throughout the country, including High courts and District courts .

For disputes involving government employees, India has a network of Administrative Tribunals .

Finding Case Law

Over time, there have been hundreds of publications reporting cases decided in India's courts, and some of them have changed their names several times. The Supreme Court of India's Equivalent Citation Table can help a researcher not only make sense of the various case reporter names, but also determine parallel citations if necessary.

Note that, in Indian legal bibliography, the term "law journal" can mean many different things, including a case law reporter.

Harvard has been collecting case law reporters from India for many years. To find judicial decisions from Indian courts in the law library's print collection, try the searches below, which include various ways Harvard's library catalogers have named and described relevant publications.

HOLLIS Search: "All India Reporter"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "High Court" AND "Cases OR Reports OR Digests OR Decisions"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Judicial Commissioner's Court"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Law Reports, Digests, Etc."
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Reports of Cases"
HOLLIS Search: "India" AND "Supreme Court Cases"
HOLLIS Search: "Indian Decisions" AND "Law OR Legal"
HOLLIS Search: "Indian High Court Reports"
HOLLIS Search: "Indian Law Reports"
HOLLIS Search: "Justice, Administration of -- India" (Subject field search)
HOLLIS Search: "Supreme Court of India" AND "Cases OR Reports OR Digests OR Decisions"
Directory of District Court Websites Links to District Court websites are provided, through which you can browse and search for opinions.
Directory of High Court Websites Links to High Court websites are provided, through which you can browse and search for opinions.
Supreme Court Judges' Library: SUPLIS Database of Caselaws
Supreme Court of India: Judgments Database Search by case number, diary number, judgment date, judge name, parties, free text, and more.

Legal Journals and Periodicals

In Indian legal bibliography, the term "law journal" can mean many different things, including the following:

A case law reporter
A legal periodical that publishes article-length scholarly works (like a "law review" in the United States)

The Union Catalogue of Legal Journals , maintained by the Judges' Library of the Supreme Court of India, provides a helpful overview of Indian legal periodicals.

Scholarly Law Journals

Many scholarly law journals in India are published by law schools. Depending on the journal and the publication date, they can be found open-access through a law school website, through a subscription database (such as HeinOnline , Sage , Jstor , or Taylor and Francis ), and/or in the library's print collection.

To find journals in our collection, you can search the HOLLIS library catalog . However, it might be easier and faster to check the list of journals published at Indian law schools below, in case the one you want is available open access online.

Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) (Patna) Chanakya Law Review.
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU) (Lucknow) Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Journal (ISSN: 0975 – 9549); RMLNLU Law Review (ISSN: 0975 – 9530); CMET Journal, Child Protection in Uttar Pradesh Quarterly Newsletter.
Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) (Gandhi Nagar) GNLU Journal of Law, Development and Politics (GJLDP); GNLU Law Review; Gujarat Law Journal; GNLU Journal of Law & Economics (GJLE); GNLU Law and Society Review
Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) (Raipur) Journal of Law and Social Science
NALSAR University School of Law (Hyderabad) NALSAR Law Review (ISSN 2319-1988); Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law (Print ISSN 0975-492X and e-ISSN 2278-862X); Environmental Law and Practice Review (ISSN 2319-1856); Media Law Review (ISSN 2319-1848); Journal of Corporate Affairs and Corporate Crimes (ISSN 2278-8611); NALSAR Student Law Review (ISSN 0975-0216); The Indian Journal of Constitutional Law (ISSN 0975-0134); The Indian Journal of Law and Economics (ISSN 2319-1864); NALSAR ADR Journal (ISSN 2348-7690); International Journal of Constitutional Law (IJCL); NALSAR International Law Journal
National Law Institute University (NLIU) (Bhopal) Using the top menu, navigate through Research - Research Publications - NLIU Publications to find Indian Law Review, NLIU Journal of Intellectual Property Law, NLIU Law Review, NLIU e-Journals (International Law, Media Law).
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The Indian Legal Profession in the Age of Globalization: The Rise of the Corporate Legal Sector and its Impact on Lawyers and Society 2017 book co-authored by David Wilkins, Vikramaditya S. Khanna, and David M. Trubek.
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50 Research Topics For Law Students In August 2022: Read Now!

If you are a law student and love research, here’s our flagship article. Our team has meticulously prepared a list of 50 top contemporary topics for research in August 2022 across a number of legal subjects . Happy Researching!

Military law 1. Military Law v. Martial Law: A Comparative Study. 2. Authorities under Military Law in India. 3. Punishments under Military Law v. Civil Law: A Comparative Study. 4. Evolution of Military Law in India. Admiralty (Maritime) Law 1. Local laws v. Maritime Law: Which shall prevail? 2. Suez Canal crisis: What it cost the world? 3. 10 Things to Know Before Becoming A Maritime Lawyer 4. Enforcement of Maritime Law: A Critical Analysis 5. Relevance of South China Sea Globally. Bankruptcy Law 1. Efficiency of Fast track Resolution Process in India. 2. Authorities governing Insolvency and Bankruptcy in India: An Analysis 3. Cross-Border Insolvency in India. 4. Evolution of insolvency and bankruptcy laws in India: Landmark Judgments Business (Corporate) Law 1. Corporate Law Journals to Publish Your Research Paper. 2. Effective corporate governance laws: A Review 3. Top Research Journals for Corporate Law in India.

Civil Rights Law 1. Beef in India: A Study into Religious aspect 2. Drug abuse in India: A Critical analysis of Sushant Singh Rajput case. 3. Females of Islam: A Study 4. A critical analysis of Niqah Halala in Islam. 5. Maintenance to wives, children and parents in India: A Study through Landmark cases. Criminal law 1. Constitutional perspective of Criminal Procedure Code. 2. A critical Analysis of Plea bargaining Procedure. 3. Sex work in India: Morality v. Legality 4. Appeal, Review, Revision of Cases in India. 5. Rationale behind Death Penalty in India: A Critical Analysis. Entertainment law 1. Entertainment Law in India: A Jurisprudential Study. 2. An Introduction to Entertainment Law: A Basic Study. 3. Regulation of Pornography in OTT Platforms. 4. Royalties of Artistic Works in India: A Study 5. Regulations on Piracy and Pirated Works. Environment law 1. Indian environmental law for the sustainability of the resources and management: A critical assessment. 2. Politics v. Environment Law: A Study. 3. Important International Treaties on Climate Change. 4. Kyoto Protocol: Landmark Treaty on Climate Change.

Health law 1. Analysis of Insanity in Law. 2. Regulation of Donation of Organs in India and Globally. 3. Jurisprudence of Health law. 4. Right to Die: Law and Legislation. 5. Law and Biotechnology. Sports law 1. Sports Industry Law and Regulation: A Need of the Hour. 2. Relevance of sports law in India. 3. India’s Draft National Air Sports Policy 2022: A brief analysis. 4. Sports law and its aspect of Intellectual Property Rights. 5. Analysing the future of Sports Law in India. Moneylaundering law 1. Analysing India’s money laundering and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. 2. Hasan Ali Khan v Union of India: Case Analysis. 3. Analysing the legal issues in JKCA money laundering case. 4. Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors. v. Union of India: Case Analysis. 5. The powers of the Directorate of Enforcement in Anti-Money Laundering cases.

YLCC would like to thank Akhila Sawan for her valuable contribution in this publication.

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Analysis of Recent Reforms in Indian Criminal Law

Syllabus: Governance: Indian Criminal Justice System

Context: We have already discussed the need and provisions of the bill . Here in this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of the proposed bill.

Major Provisions of the Bills:

Objective of the Bills: These bills aim to modernize the criminal justice system by updating laws, incorporating digital interfaces, expediting legal processes, and introducing community service as a form of punishment for minor offences .

The positive aspects of the proposed criminal law reforms:

Modernization of Criminal Justice System : E.g., using e-FIR, Zero FIR, new cyber offences, and modernize evidence collection.
Update of Outdated Laws
Stringent Provisions for Women and Children : The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has dedicated a separate chapter to these matters and introduced new forms of offence.
Innovations: Innovations such as trial in absentia and the introduction of community service as a penalty for minor offences are noteworthy.
Gender Inclusivity : The proposed reforms have reviewed language for gender neutrality and replaced outdated terms such as ‘insanity’ with ‘mental illness .’
Specific Definitions and Offenses : The bills define and address offences like terrorism, organized crime, mob lynching, and negligent acts, adding new dimensions to criminal law.
Protection for Victims: g., protection and rights of victims, including provisions related to victims’ participation, and rights.
Expedited Justice : E.g., Requirement for judgments to be given within 30 days after the trial concludes and limitations on adjournments.

Issues with the Proposed Bills:

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India’s Criminal Justice System

Mains Links:

Comprehensive reforms are needed in the criminal justice system to ensure effective enforcement of the law, uphold accountability, have a well-trained workforce and speedy disposal of the cases. Comment. (250 words)

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Overview of Criminal Law Reforms

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 (BSB), replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA), respectively. These Bills seek to modernise the current legal framework and overhaul the criminal justice system.

Punitive versus reformative justice: The Bills seek to move towards a reformative justice system by providing for community service instead of imprisonment. However, they mostly retain the current punitive character of the criminal justice system.

Civil versus criminal jurisprudence: The Bills retain several offences from the IPC and CrPC which may be civil disputes, that is, these cause injury to a person instead of being offences against the public or state.

Trial procedure and maintaining public order: The BNSS contains procedures for investigation and trial, as well as provisions on maintaining law and order. The question is whether a law on criminal procedure should deal with maintaining public order as well.

Overlap with special laws: The Bills retain several provisions from the IPC, which have been incorporated in other special laws. Removing these might help in reducing inconsistencies and administrative duplication. The Bills also add provisions from other special laws related to terrorism and organised crime.

Age for criminal responsibility: The minimum age for criminal responsibility has been retained at seven years, which is lower than the norm in international conventions and other jurisdictions.

High proportion of undertrials in jails: The BNSS retains the current provisions in CrPC. It also prohibits bail for the accused if they have multiple cases pending. It does not allow plea bargains to be struck for a lesser offence.

Court judgements and committee recommendations not codified: The Bills have not codified several directions given by Courts, such as those related to anticipatory bail and arrest procedure. The Bills have also not incorporated several recommendations made by various high-level committees related to arrest, confessions, bail and the death penalty.

Institutional bottlenecks: Several bottlenecks in the justice system, such as police vacancies and poor forensic capacity, affect speedy justice delivery. The Bills do not address these challenges.

D rafting issues: The Bills do not address certain gaps with respect to offences, contain several drafting errors, and use obsolete illustrations.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882, the Police Act, 1861, and the Prisons Act, 1894 were enacted as the main laws to govern criminal justice in British India. The Code of Criminal Procedure was replaced in 1898 and again by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). After the commencement of the Constitution, police and prisons were placed in the State List of the Seventh Schedule.

While, the IPC, CrPC, and IEA govern the overall criminal justice system, over the years various special laws have been enacted to penalise certain offences and provide for separate procedures. For instance, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 deals with terrorist activities and unlawful activities of individuals and associations. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 protects children from sexual assault and pornography. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is a regulatory law that penalises offences including food adulteration. Various states have also enacted laws to control organised crime.

On August 11, 2023, three Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha to replace the IPC, CrPC and IEA. These are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 (BSB), respectively. The three Bills have been examined by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs. [1]

KEY ISSUES IN CRIMINAL LAW REFORMS

Modernising the criminal justice system

The IPC, IEA, and a large section of the CrPC are older than independent India. Given that the Bills are replacing laws from the 19 th and 20 th century (though amended several times), the question is whether they reflect current norms of criminal jurisprudence. We examine nine aspects.

Should criminal laws be reformative or punitive in character

In 1979, the Supreme Court indicated that reformation and rehabilitation of offenders were the foremost objects of the administration of criminal justice in India, rather than solely deterrence of crime. [2] The idea of punishment being reformative and aimed at reintegrating offenders into society is central to reforming the criminal justice system. [3] The Report on the Draft National Policy on Criminal Justice (2007) recommended introducing certain reformative elements into criminal law. [4] These include: (i) decriminalising offences that can be dealt through civil process, (ii) mainstreaming settlement without trial (compounding and plea bargaining), and (iii) allowing compensation and community service for offences such as vagrancy. The Bills move the needle a bit towards reformative justice by providing for community service as an alternative to incarceration for some offences. However, they largely retain the punitive character of the criminal justice system.

There are inconsistencies in classifying offences as bailable and compoundable. For instance, theft is punishable with rigorous imprisonment between a year and five years. The BNS adds that community service may also be imposed as punishment for theft. This is provided for cases where: (i) the value of the stolen property is less than Rs 5,000 (ii) the person is a first-time offender, and (iii) the stolen property is returned or its value is restored. However, theft remains a non-bailable offence. On the other hand, the BNS adds snatching as an offence (aggravated form of theft) punishable by imprisonment up to three years but makes it a bailable offence. In addition, many minor offences that can be tried summarily are not compoundable and will require trial and conviction (even with a fine). For example, the BNS penalises keeping an unauthorised lottery office with imprisonment up to six months. Although, the severity of the punishment suggests that it is considered a minor offence and eligible for summary trial, it is not included in the list of compoundable offences under the BNSS.

There has been a move towards reformative process in other jurisdictions. For example, the California Criminal Code was amended in 2022 to state that legislatures should intend for criminal cases to be disposed of by the “least restrictive means available”. It also requires judges to “consider alternatives to incarceration, including, without limitation, collaborative justice court programs, diversion, restorative justice, and probation”. [5]

Certain offences under the Bills may be treated as civil cases

Typically, civil law deals with disputes between private parties and negligent acts of individuals that cause harm to others. [6] Criminal law deals with intentional acts of harm to individuals and offences that can be against the public, society or the state. The CrPC provides a list of offences that may be compounded by the affected person, resulting in the accused being acquitted. The BNSS retains similar provisions as the CrPC. For example, in the case of cheating, the person who is cheated may compound the offence. By giving this power to the affected person, the CrPC treats such offences as against the person rather than against society at large. The question arises whether such cases should be treated as civil cases instead of being in BNS.

The BNSS and BNS also retain several provisions from the CrPC and IPC that may be considered as civil disputes. These include provisions related to providing maintenance to wives, children and parents. The IPC penalises defamation, which is retained in the BNS. While some countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand now consider defamation a civil offence, some others such as Canada and Germany have included defamation in their criminal codes. [7]

The BNSS also deals with public order functions

The CrPC provides for the procedure for investigation and trial for offences. It also contains provisions for security to maintain peace, and maintenance of public order and tranquillity. It contains provisions that allow a District Magistrate to issue orders needed to preserve public order. The BNSS has retained these provisions (in separate chapters). Since trial procedure and the maintenance of public order are distinct functions, the question is whether they should be included in the same law or if they should be dealt with separately. As per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, public order is a state subject. [8] However, matters under the CrPC (prior to the commencement of the Constitution) fall under the Concurrent List. [9]

Codification of directions of the Supreme Court and High Courts

Courts have laid down the procedure for several aspects of the criminal justice system. Codifying these procedures and guidelines in law is recommended for two important reasons. First, there may be multiple judgements dealing with the same issue, which may not be easily accessible or understood by the general public and law enforcement officers. Second, the legislature has the constitutional mandate and the deliberative processes to enact appropriate law with sufficient safeguards, while courts only fill the gap. For example, the Vishakha judgement which established guidelines to protect women against sexual harassment at the workplace, was followed by an Act of Parliament in 2013. [10] , [11]

These Bills partially adhere to the principle. The BNSS adds that every state will prepare and notify a witness protection scheme to protect witnesses. The inclusion of this provision may be attributed to the repeated emphasis on protecting witnesses by the Supreme Court and the subsequent implementation of the Witness Protection Scheme in 2018. [12] However, the Bills do not codify certain other aspects, such as those related to arrests and bail. Since these functions are carried out by police officers and judges nationwide, codifying them would help bring about some uniformity in implementation. For instance, the Supreme Court (2021) held that for offences punishable up to seven years imprisonment under the IPC, the Court may decide bail application of the accused in his presence without taking him in custody. [13]

Sentencing guidelines may help addressing judicial disparity in sentencing

Many offences specify a range for the penalty. For example, the punishment for a man who deceives a woman, who is not married to him into thinking they are married and cohabits with her will be imprisoned up to 10 years with a fine. This means that the judge may impose a sentence anywhere between a day and 10 years. The judge is tasked with exercising judgement based on the circumstances of the case to determine the appropriate sentence. With such a wide range, different judges may impose varied sentences on similar cases, resulting in an outcome that is dependent on which judge is assigned the case. Judicial disparity in sentencing for similar cases may affect fairness and consistency in the legal system. This may be addressed by narrowing the range of allowable penalties and providing sentencing guidelines for judges to ensure consistency across judges.

To ensure that sentences are proportional, several jurisdictions have introduced sentencing guidelines. The United Kingdom, and the US states of Minnesota and California, give judges the discretion to determine the sentence according to sentencing rules. [14] , [15] These rules provide guidelines including a range of punishment for each offence, taking into account factors such as the offender’s personal circumstances and the severity of the crime. [16] The Malimath Committee (2003) had recommended adopting sentencing guidelines to minimise uncertainty in imposing sentences. [17]

The minimum age of criminal responsibility is set at seven years

The age of criminal responsibility refers to the minimum age at which a child can be prosecuted and punished for an offence. Advances in understanding the neurobiological processes affecting adolescent behaviour have raised questions on the extent to which children should be held accountable for their actions. [18] Under the IPC, nothing is considered an offence if it is done by a child below the age of seven years. The age of criminal responsibility increases to 12 years, if the child is found to not have attained the ability to understand the nature and consequences of his conduct. The BNS retains these provisions. This age is lower than the age of criminal responsibility in other countries. For instance, in Germany, the age of criminal responsibility is 14 years, whereas in England and Wales, it is 10 years. [19] , [20] In Scotland, the age of criminal responsibility is 12 years. [21] It may also contravene international conventions that India is a signatory to. In 2007, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended states to set the age of criminal responsibility to above 12 years. [22]

Scope of bail limited in case of multiple charges

As per the CrPC, if an undertrial has spent half of the maximum period of imprisonment for an offence in detention, he must be released on his personal bond. This provision does not apply to offences which are punishable by death. BNSS retains this provision and adds that bail will be granted to undertrials who are first-time offenders if they have completed one-third of the maximum sentence. However, it also expands the offences and individuals this provision will not apply to: (i) offences punishable by life imprisonment, and (ii) persons who have pending proceedings in more than one offence. Since chargesheets often mention multiple offences, this may make many undertrials ineligible for mandatory bail.

Limited plea bargaining

Plea bargaining is an agreement between the defence and prosecution where the accused pleads guilty for a lesser offense or a reduced sentence. It was added to the CrPC in 2005. Certain offences punishable with a death penalty, life imprisonment, or an imprisonment term exceeding seven years are not subject to plea bargaining. The CrPC does not permit a bargain to be struck for a lesser offence or for compounding the offence – the accused will be considered to have confessed and been convicted of the offence. The BNSS retains this provision. This limits plea bargaining in India to sentence bargaining, that is getting a lighter sentence in exchange for the accused’s guilty plea.

Incorporating recommendations of various high-level Committees

Several Committees have examined aspects of criminal law over the years. These include the Law Commission, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home, the Justice Malimath Committee (2003), and the Justice Verma Committee (2013). Aspects covered by these Committees include those related to arrest, confessions, bail, compensation for wrongful prosecution, and the death penalty. Several major recommendations of these Committees have not been incorporated in the Bills.

For example, the Malimath Committee (2003) recommended adding a chapter in the CrPC to provide compensation for people who are wrongfully accused.17 The Law Commission (2003) recommended that that facts discovered using any threat or violence as a result of information received from the accused in police custody will not be provable. [23] In 2017, the Law Commission also recommended inserting a new section in the CrPC, which would require Courts to record reasons for denying bail. [24] For a detailed list of recommendations, please refer to our Legislative Briefs on the three Bills.

Institutional bottlenecks in the criminal justice system

The criminal justice system is reliant on the functioning of various entities, including the police, judiciary, bureaucracy (District Magistrates), and prison officials. Police officers have the power to enforce laws, arrest suspects, and take them to custody. These suspects may appear before a judge who will determine their guilt or innocence. Upon conviction, prison officials are tasked with managing imprisonment, parole, and probation. However, logistical issues arise in the criminal justice system due to understaffing, lack of experts, and high rates of pending cases and prison occupation, which ultimately impacts the entire system.

Vacancies in police and additional workload hampers investigations

Vacancies: As on January 1, 2021, about 21% of police posts were vacant across states. [25] This vacancy rate varies across states. For instance, Bihar (42%) and West Bengal (38%) reported higher vacancy rates in their state police than Kerala (4%) and Himachal Pradesh (9%). 25 Vacancy rates also differ across positions with an 8% vacancy rate for Superintendent posts and 28% vacancy rate for Inspector positions. 25 Women represent about 10% of the police force. [26] To address administrative bottlenecks due to understaffing, the Standing Committee on Home Affairs (2022) recommended states/UTs to conduct police recruitment drives. 33

Improving investigation: Another concern highlighted by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs (2022) was a low conviction rate, which was below 45%, for major crimes like murder, rape, kidnapping. 26 Contributing factors included: (i) lapses in investigation, (ii) lack of time for investigation due to other duties, (iii) failure to write case diaries regularly, and (iv) non-collection and preservation of evidence. 26 The Committee recommended senior police officers to conduct on-the-spot assessments and submit monthly progress reports on important cases and the performance of investigating officers. 26

To prioritise investigation, the Mooshahary Committee (2005) had recommended separating core police functions (investigation and maintenance of law and order) from the non-core functions (serving of summons). [27] The Committee on Home Affairs (2022) emphasised that separating investigation from law and order is vital for police accountability and autonomy in investigating crimes. 26 It noted that only six states, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Punjab, have fully separated the duties of investigation and law and order.

Lack of forensic facilities

Forensic laboratories serve a key role in investigations by providing analytical support to law enforcement and the judiciary. [28] These laboratories also conduct DNA-based forensic investigation on crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, and robbery. [29] The BNSS introduces a mandatory visit from a forensic expert at a crime scene to collect evidence for every offence punishable with at least seven-year imprisonment. If a forensic facility is unavailable, the state government may notify the use of facilities from other states. While the Bill expands the use of forensics in investigation, the availability of forensic facilities remains a concern.

Currently, there are six Central Forensic Laboratories (CFL) and one additional CFL in Delhi under the Central Bureau of Investigation. [30] As of March 2023, there are 32 State Forensic Laboratories, 106 Regional Forensic Science Laboratories, and 516 Mobile Forensic Science Vehicles with states and UTs. [31] Forensic labs are not evenly distributed across states/UTs. For instance, as of January 2021, Uttar Pradesh had four and Odisha three regional forensic science laboratories, while Maharashtra had seven and Tamil Nadu ten. [32] The Committee on Home Affairs (2022) recommended the MHA set up one forensic laboratory in every state capital and in every city with a population over one million persons within a two-year timeframe. [33] Currently, the Forensic Science Laboratories face several challenges such as: (i) limited capacities for timely investigation, (ii) upgrading technologies, (iii) availability of trained manpower, and (iv) ensuring quality assurance and control. [34]

High pendency of cases

The Indian judiciary faces an increasing number of pending cases at all levels and a large vacancy at most levels. As a result of growing backlog of cases for a long period, the number of undertrials (accused awaiting trial) has also increased. As of December 2021, India’s prisons housed over 5.5 lakh prisoners, with an overall occupancy rate of 130%. [35] Around 77% of these prisoners were undertrials (4.3 lakh), while the remaining 23% were convicts and detenues. [36] Delhi (91%), Jammu and Kashmir (91%), Bihar (89%), West Bengal (88%), and Odisha (87%) reported a high undertrial population. [37]

The burden of pending cases and a large undertrial population affects multiple tiers of the judicial system. As on March 30, 2022, around 20% of cases pending with the Supreme Court were criminal matters. [38] As of December 12, 2021, criminal cases accounted for 74% of the overall pending cases in lower Courts in India. [39] As on November 2023, over 30 lakh criminal cases are pending for more than 10 years. [40]

Overlap between the Bills and special laws

When the IPC was enacted, it encompassed all criminal offences. Over time, special laws have been enacted to address specific subjects, and related offences. Some of these offences have been removed from the BNS. For example, offences related to weights and measures which were incorporated in the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 have been removed from the BNS. [41] However, several offences are still retained, such as offences related to adulteration of food and drugs, bonded labour, motor vehicles, and human trafficking. Further, the BNS adds terrorism and organised crime as offences. These offences are covered under relevant special laws.

In certain cases, duplication of laws could create a parallel regulatory and administrative framework which could lead to additional compliance burden and costs. Penalties for the same offences also vary across these laws. Certain laws also provide different definitions for the same subject. Deleting provisions related to such offences could remove duplication, possible inconsistency, and multiple regulatory regimes. Please see our Legislative Briefs on the BNS and BNSS for examples of such overlaps.

Criminal identification: In 2006, the CrPC was amended to empower a Magistrate to obtain handwriting or signature specimens from a person. The BNSS expands this provision by empowering the Magistrate to also collect finger impressions and voice samples, and widens the ambit of persons whose data may be collected. The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 allows the collection of more identifiable information about individuals for the investigation (such as biological samples). It also permits collection of data of individuals who may not be the accused. The question is whether there is a need for the provision if it is already covered by an existing law with wider provisions for such data collection.

Gaps in the law and drafting issues

The Bill contains gaps which are not covered in other laws. For example, the BNS drops the erstwhile section 377 of the IPC, leaving no law that makes rape of an adult man an offence. Further, there are several instances of drafting errors. For example, the replacement of “provided that” by “unless” reverses the cases when an intoxicated person cannot be held liable for an offence.

There are illustrations that are obsolete, which refer to swords, horsewhips, cannons, chariots and palanquins. Illustrations are meant to make it easy for the public (as well as judges) to understand what would fall under that section. Therefore, illustrations should relate to examples found in ordinary life. Please see our Legislative Briefs on the respective Bills for some examples of gaps, drafting errors, and obsolete illustrations.

[1] . Report No. 248 , ‘The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023’, The Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Rajya Sabha, November 10, 2023.

[2] . 1979 AIR 964, Bishnu Deo Shaw @ Bishnu Dayal v. State of West Bengal , Supreme Court, February 22, 1979.

[3] . ‘ Criminal Justice Reform’ , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

[4] . Report of the Committee on the Draft National Policy on Criminal Justice , Ministry of Home Affairs, July 2007.

[5] . Section 17.2 , Preliminary Provisions, California Penal Code.

[6] . “Civil and Criminal Law” , National Institute of Open Schooling.

[7] . Defamation Act, 1992 , New Zealand; The Coroners and Justice Act, 2009 , The United Kingdom; Section 297, Canada Criminal Code ; Section 187, The German Criminal Code .

[8] . Entry 1, List II, Seventh Schedule , The Constitution of India.

[9] . Entry 2, List III, Seventh Schedule , The Constitution of India.

[10] . Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan , Supreme Court, August 13, 1997,

[11] . The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 .

[12] . N0.9/RN/Ref/February/2022, Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, Reference Note , Parliament Library and Reference, Research, Documentation and Information Service, Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 , The Ministry of Home Affairs.

[13] . Special Leave Petition (crl) No. 5191 of 2021, Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation , Supreme Court, July 11,2021.

[14] . 'Sentencing – Overview, General Principles and Mandatory Custodial Sentences' , Crown Prosecution Service, United Kingdom, June 2023.

[15] . The Minnesota Sentencing Guideline Commission .

[16] . Rule 4.420 - Selection of term of imprisonment for offense, California Rules of Court.

[17] . Committee on Reforms of Criminal Justice System (Malimath Committee): Report: Volume I , 2003, Ministry of Home Affairs.

[18] . PostNote 588, Age of Criminal Responsibility , Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, The United Kingdom, June 2018.

[19] . Section 19, The German Criminal Code , 1998.

[20] . “ Age of criminal responsibility ”, The Government of the United Kingdom.

[21] . “ If a young person gets in trouble with the police ”, The Government of Scotland.

[22] . Report of the Committee on Rights of the Child , United Nations.

[23] . Report No. 268 , Law Commission of India, 2017.

[24] . Report No. 185, Chapter III and Annexure , Law Commission of India, 2003.

[25] . Data on Police Organisations , Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, January 1, 2021.

[26] . Report No. 237 , Police- Training, Modernisation, and Reforms, Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Rajya Sabha, February 10, 2022.

[27] . Report of the Review Committee on the Recommendations of National Police Commission and Other Commissions/Committees on Police Reforms (Mooshahary Committee) , Ministry of Home Affairs, March 2005.

[28] . Central Forensic Science Laboratory Chandigarh , Ministry of Home Affairs, as accessed on November 19, 2023.

[29] . Unstarred Question No. 4126 , Rajya Sabha, Ministry of Home Affairs, April 07, 2022.

[30] . Unstarred Question No. 2686 , Rajya Sabha, Ministry of Home Affairs, August 10, 2016.

[31] . Report No. 242, ‘Demands for Grants: Ministry of Home Affairs 2023-24’ , Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Rajya Sabha, March 20, 2023.

[32] . Data on Police Organisation , Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2021.

[33] . Report No. 238, ‘Demands for Grants (2022-23), Ministry of Home Affairs’ , Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Rajya Sabha, March 14, 2022.

[34] . Starred Question No. 124, Ministry of Home Affairs, Lok Sabha, July 26, 2022.

[35] . ‘Prisons and Occupancy’ , Prison Statistics 2021, Ministry of Home Affairs.

[36] . ‘Prisoners- Types and Demography’ , Prison Statistics India 2021, Ministry of Home Affairs.

[37] . Table 2.2, Percentage Share of Different Types of Prison Inmates as on December 31, 2021 , Prison Statistic India, 2021.

[38] . Unstarred Question No. 4118, Rajya Sabha, Ministry of Law and Justice, April 7, 2022,

[39] . Unstarred Question No. 2201, Rajya Sabha, Ministry of Law and Justice, December 16, 2021.

[40] . The National Judicial Data Grid , as accessed on November 23, 2023.

[41] . Legal Meteorology Act, 2009 .

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Salient Features And Significant Changes In New Criminal Laws – An Explainer

Contributor

The cog to reform the criminal laws in India started turning in 2020 with the formation of a Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws (CRCL). The process took its final turn when recently, on August 11, 2023, the Home Minister introduced in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) 3 bills to completely overhaul the centuries-old Indian Penal Code, 1860 Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (originally 1898) and Indian Evidence Act 1872 and replace them with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 respectively. The step was hailed by many, including various academicians and scholars. At the same time, few remained critical regarding it, calling it unnecessary and futile to replace century-old intact laws, thereby disturbing the vast criminal jurisprudence. The Bills have been referred to a parliamentary standing committee for further examination.

This piece will explore the key changes in the newly proposed codes and actions.

THE BHARTAIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has 356 Sections, with 175 sourced from the Indian Penal Code having undergone alterations and modifications, 22 being repealed, and 8 new Sections being introduced. The new code has also introduced "community service" as a new form of punishment for petty offences.

Language change

The new code extends the definition of male pronouns to cover men, women and "transgender" as defined under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The phrase "mental illness", as defined under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, is used instead of insanity and unsoundness of mind.

NEW PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

Offences against women and children.

A new chapter dealing with offences against women and children has been introduced with new provisions and offences. Under the IPC, these offences are part of the chapter dealing with offences against the human body.

Under the IPC, Sections 376DA and 376DB provide punishment for gang-raping a girl under 16 years of age and under 12 years of age, respectively. If the girl is under 16 years of age, the punishment is life imprisonment. In case the girl is under 12 years of age, the punishment could be life imprisonment or death penalty.

However, under the proposed code, Section 70(2) provides that if a group of persons rapes any girl below 18 years of age, they could face life imprisonment or even the death sentence.

Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means.

This is one of the significant additions to the new code.

Under Section 69 of the proposed code, an individual who engages in sexual intercourse not amounting to rape with a woman through deceitful means or by providing false assurances of marriage will face a potential punishment of up to ten years of imprisonment, in addition to being liable for a fine.

Earlier, sexual intercourse on the promise of marriage used to be punished for the offence of rape under Section 375 IPC and the said provision did not list it as a separate offence.

Hiring children below the age of 18 years to commit an offence.

Under the proposed code, if anyone hires children under 18 to commit an offence, then such person will be held liable for the offence committed by the children.

Causing death by rash or negligent act and fleeing the scene of the incident

Section 104(2) of the proposed code seeks to punish with higher imprisonment for a person who causes death by a rash or negligent act and then escapes from the scene of the incident. The maximum punishment in such a scenario is up to 7 years and a fine.

Mob Lynching

The offence, though not separately defined, is punishable under the same provision as murder, i.e., Section 101. Section 101 of the proposed code provides punishment for murder on the grounds of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or 'any other ground'. The offence is punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term of seven years or more.

Under the IPC, mob lynching is dealt with as murder with common intention and is punished as such accordingly. Under the IPC, the punishment for murder is either death or imprisonment for life.

However, Section 101(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provides imprisonment for seven years or more as one of the punishments besides life imprisonment and the death penalty.

Organised crime and petty organised crimes

Organised crime will be defined under the penal code for the first time.

Section 109(1) of the proposed code defines organised crime as continuing illegal activities, including kidnapping, robbery, vehicle theft, extortion, land grabbing, contract killing, etc., carried out by groups of individuals acting in concert, singly or jointly, to gain financial or material benefits using violence, threats, intimidation, or other unlawful means.

According to Section 109(2), anyone who attempts to commit or commits an organized crime resulting in death will be subject to the punishment of death penalty or life imprisonment, along with a fine of no less than ₹10 lakh.

In cases where the act does not result in death, the individual or individuals involved shall be liable for imprisonment for a minimum of five years, which may extend to life imprisonment, in addition to a fine of not less than ₹5 lakh.

Sections 109(3) to 109(7) encompass provisions detailing the punishments applicable in aiding, abetting, membership, harbouring an offender, or possessing property linked to organized crime.

Section 110 defines petty organised crimes as theft of vehicles or from vehicles, domestic and business theft, trick theft, cargo crime, snatching, shoplifting, ATM thefts, and selling of public examination question papers. Anyone who attempts to commit or commits any petty organised crime will be subject to imprisonment for a minimum of one year, which may extend to seven years.

Terrorist Act

In another first, a 'terrorist act' has been defined under the proposed code.

As per Section 111(1), a person is considered to have committed a terrorist act if he intentionally engages in an action to threaten the unity, integrity and security of India:

By using lethal means to create fear, cause death, harm individuals, or endanger lives.
By causing damage or disruption to public or private property.
By damaging or destroying critical infrastructure, disrupting vital systems.
By intimidating the government or its organisations, potentially causing death or injury to public officials, compelling government actions, or destabilising the country's structures.

Acts included within the scope of any treaties listed in the Second Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 have also been included.

As per Section 111(2), anyone who attempts to commit or commits a terrorist act resulting in death will be subject to the punishment of death or life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, along with a fine of no less than ₹10 lakh.

Sections 111(3) to 111(5) are provisions dealing with punishments applicable in cases of aiding, abetting, membership or harbouring an offender linked to a terrorist act.

Theft of property of which value is less than five thousand rupees

Section 301 of the proposed code provides for punishment of community service in case of theft of property where the value of the stolen property is less than five thousand rupees. No provision in the IPC specifically deals with such petty offence as was often bracketed under the broad head of the theft under Section 378.

Abetment outside India for offence in India

Section 48 of the proposed code seeks to provide punishment for abetting an offence inside India from outside India. Thus, the reach of the new proposed code is made trans-border.

The new proposed code seeks to define snatching as an offence under Section 302 and punishes the act with imprisonment of a term of up to 3 years and a fine.

OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE

While introducing the bills in parliament, the Union Home Minister said that the proposed code would completely repeal the offence of sedition (punishable under Section 124A of the IPC). But the same provision has been repackaged, and a new version of sedition is introduced under Section 150 to punish acts "endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India".

Similarly, Section 303 of the IPC was declared unconstitutional by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Mithu v. State of Punjab 1 and has been repackaged and re-introduced in Section 102, thereby mandating the punishment of death or life imprisonment for the remainder of natural life if a person is under sentence of imprisonment for life commits murder. To recall, Section 303 of the IPC provided for a mandatory death sentence for a murder committed by a life-convict.

CHANGES IN PUNISHMENTS FOR CERTAIN OFFENCES

Under the new code, the offence of defamation will be punishable under Section 354(2) with imprisonment for a term of up to 2 years or a fine or with "community service".

Causing death by negligence

The punishment for causing death by negligence is enhanced. Under the IPC, Section 304A punishes the offence of causing death by rash or negligent act with imprisonment for a maximum of 2 years or with a fine or with both. Under Section 104(1) of the proposed code, it is punishable with a maximum term of 7 years and a fine.

The punishment for extortion has also been enhanced. Under Section 384 of the IPC, extortion is punishable with imprisonment for up to three years. Under Section 306 of the proposed code, it is punishable with imprisonment for up to seven years.

Criminal breach of trust

Under Section 406 of the IPC, criminal breach of trust is punishable with imprisonment for up to three years. Under section 315 of the proposed code, it is punishable with imprisonment for up to five years.

Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant

Under Section 188 of the IPC, disobeying orders of a public servant is punishable with imprisonment for up to a month or up to six months, depending on whether or not the act causes danger to human life, health or safety or causes a riot. However, under Section 221 of the proposed code, the same is punishable with imprisonment ranging from up to six months to a year.

Misconduct in public by a drunken person

Under Section 510 of the IPC, a drunken person annoying in a public place is punishable with simple imprisonment for a term extending to 24 hours or with a fine of 10 rupees. But under Section 353 of the proposed code, the same is also punishable with community service or a fine of a maximum of 1,000 rupees.

REPEALED PROVISIONS

Unnatural sexual offences.

Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalised "unnatural" carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, was partly struck down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India 2 to the extent that such an act is performed with consent between two adults.

However, the proposed code does not feature unnatural offences.

Section 497 of the IPC, which criminalised Adultery, was struck down by the Supreme Court for being arbitrary and violating Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.

Adultery is no longer an offence under the proposed code.

Attempt to die by suicide

The IPC prescribes punishment for attempting to die by suicide, which could result in imprisonment for up to a year, a fine, or both.

Although the proposed code seems to have removed the provision, the act of attempting to die by suicide has not been completely decriminalised. Under Section 224 of the proposed code, attempting to die by suicide still could result in imprisonment for up to a year, a fine, or both. This provided that the act intends to compel or restrain a public servant from discharging their official duty.

DRAFTING ERRORS

Section 23 of the proposed code is meant to replace Section 85 of the IPC, which states that provided an individual has been involuntarily administered an intoxicant, any act he committed while under the influence shall not be deemed an offence.

However, Section 23 of the proposed code says that unless an individual has been involuntarily administered an intoxicant, any act committed by them while under the influence shall not be deemed as an offence.

Section 150

The explanation to Section 150, which punishes "acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India", remains incomplete. The explanation reads as follows:

"Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures, or administrative or other action of the Government with a view to obtaining their alteration by lawful means without exciting or attempting to excite the activities referred to in this section."

THE BHARATIYA NAGARIK SURAKSHA SANHITA, 2023

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita proposes to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which has 533 sections. The code repeals 9 provisions of the CrPC, proposes amendment to 107 provisions and introduces 9 new provisions. Some of the significant changes are listed below.

NEW PROVISIONS

Designated police officer.

Under Section 37 of the proposed code, the state government is obligated to establish a Police control room in every district and at the state level, as well as designate a police officer who will maintain the information about names and addresses of persons arrested and the nature of the offence charged.

Identification and attachment of property of the proclaimed offender

Under Section 86 of the proposed code, the Court is empowered to initiate the process for identification, attachment and forfeiture of property belonging to a proclaimed person.

Recording of search and seizure through audio-video electronic means

The new code under Section 105 seeks to provide for the recording of search and seizure of any property, article or thing through audio-video electronic means. Audio video electronic means are also defined under the proposed code to include the use of any communication device for the purposes of video conferencing, etc.

Attachment, forfeiture, or restoration of property derived from the commission of any offence

Under the new code as per Section 107, in case the police or Magistrate has reason to believe that any property is derived (directly or indirectly) as a result of criminal activity, the Court can try such offence for the attachment of such property.

Request for investigation in country or place outside India

Under the proposed new code in Section 112, criminal Courts are empowered to issue letters to a Court in another country upon request of the Investigating officer, according to which evidence may be available there, to examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and record his statement and forward all such evidence so taken to the Court issuing such letter.

Similarly, in deference to the principle of comity of nations, Section 113 of the proposed new code provides for a procedure to entertain a letter of request from another country for examination of any person in India and upon receipt of such letter, the central government is empowered to forward the same to the Judicial Magistrate who shall thereupon summon the person and record his statement.

Trial in absentia

Section 356 of the proposed new code seeks to provide for a procedure to conduct a trial and pass the judgment in absentia of a proclaimed offender. The Section starts with a non-obstante clause and prescribes that a proclaimed offender shall be deemed to waive his right to be present and tried in person, and the Court can proceed with trial in a manner as if he is present and pronounce the judgment.

Witness Protection Scheme

The new code makes it mandatory for every state government to prepare and notify a Witness Protection Scheme for the state to ensure the witness's protection.

Trial in video conferencing

While harnessing the technology and approving the usage of the same during criminal trials, the proposed new code has also sought to allow the trials, proceedings, and inquiries under the code to be conducted in an electronic mode by use of electronic communication or use of audio-video electronic means.

E-filing of FIRs and progress of the investigation to be informed to the victim by police

As per Section 173 of the new code, the FIRs with respect to the commission of a cognizable offence can be given either orally or by electronic communication to an officer in charge of a police station.

Section 193(3)(ii) mandates the police officer to inform the informant or victim of the progress of the investigation within 90 days.

Specific timelines have been prescribed for time-bound investigation & pronouncement of judgements

The new code mandates the police officer to maintain a diary of proceedings setting forth the time the information reached him and the time he began and closed his investigation. Under Section 193, the new code also mandates every investigation to be completed without unnecessary delay and investigation for offences against women and children, i.e., rape, gang rape and under POCSO Act to be completed within 2 months from the date on which the police recorded the information.

The new code also mandates the Court under Section 258 to pronounce judgment within 30 days from the date of completion of arguments, which can be extended to 60 days for specific reasons.

Clarification with respect to the Police Custody period

The new code also provides for significant clarification regarding the police custody period. Section 187(2) of the proposed new criminal code, which mirrors the provision of Section 167(2) of CrPC, seeks to clarify that the 15-day term of the policy custody period can be either in whole or in part.

No sanction to prosecute public servants is required in offences, including sexual offence trafficking

Proviso to Section 218 has done away with the requirement to obtain sanction for prosecuting a public servant for offences of rape and trafficking.

BHARATIYA SAKSHYA BILL

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill proposes to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and has 170 provisions. The Bill does not propose many material changes to the Indian Evidence Act and seeks to streamline electronic evidence. The key highlights of the Bill are as follows:

Evidence can be given electronically

The Bill seeks to elaborate the definition of the evidence. As per Section 2(1)(e), the evidence includes any statement or information given electronically, and this will permit the appearance of witnesses, accused, experts and victims through electronic means before the Court for the recording of their evidence.

Secondary evidence

The new Bill proposes to expand the scope of secondary evidence. The Bill under Section 58 allows oral admissions, written admissions, and evidence of a person who has examined the document to be produced as secondary evidence.

Streamlining the electronic evidence

The new Bill introduces a new schedule to make electronic evidence certificates more meaningful and provide for the original record's hash value. The definition of the word document is also expanded to include the electronic and digital records as documents under Section 2(1)(c).

The new Bill also clarifies under Section 61 that electronic records or digital records will have the same legal effect, validity, and enforceability and can be proved just like any other documents either by way of "primary evidence" or "secondary evidence".

Facts of which the Court can take judicial notice

Finally, the much-awaited change in Section 57 of the IEA (which provides for specific facts of which the Court can take judicial notice) has been proposed through Section 52 of the new Bill. Section 57, which was drafted during the British Raj, mainly enlists such facts which pertain to the parliament of the U.K. Rehauling the provision, the new code clearly and coherently enlists such facts about India of which the Court can take judicial notice.

All the above three new laws are now referred to the parliamentary standing committee for further discussion and analysis. There cannot be any dispute about the necessity of modernising the criminal justice system to serve the needs of the populace better and administer justice, as well as the need to remodel and rehaul our criminal laws in India in light of social advancement and new social trends. The three new laws also appear to strengthen efforts to make it easier to secure justice, particularly in cases involving crimes against women and children, mob violence, lynching, and other crimes that weren't previously covered by specific statutes. However, the ground reality of the laws will be revealed with the passage of time once they are brought into effect.

1. (1983) 2 SCC 277

2. AIR 2018 SC 4321

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Criminal Law

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The New Criminal Laws In India- Amelioration Of The Justice System In India?

Contributor

The substitution of the existing colonial criminal laws with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam in 2023 (‘New Criminal laws') has been a contentious issue. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 has replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Bharatiya Sakshyam Adhiniyam, 2023 has swapped the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 has substituted the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The New Criminal laws are set to come into effect from July 1, 2024, and at such time the question that arises is whether the introduction of the New Criminal laws will ensure speedy and efficient justice is made available to the people of India.

Explicit Features of The New Criminal Laws

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) has introduced a new set of offences and punishments which were not a part of the Indian Penal Code, 1860:

‘Community Service' is added as one of the punishments in Section 4 of BNS to bring a sense of reformative restorative justice. The petty offences punished with ‘Community Service' comprise of inter alia (a) non-appearance in response to a proclamation, (b) attempt to commit suicide, (c) to compel or restraint exercise of lawful power of public servant, (d) petty theft on return of theft money, (e) misconduct in public by a drunken person, and (f) defamation. The term “Community Service” is not defined, however, Explanation to section 23 of BNS explains it to mean the work which the Court may order a convict to perform as a form of punishment that benefits the community without any remuneration.
Abetment of an offence committed in India, by a person outside India has now been made an offence under Section 48 of the BNS.
Having sexual intercourse on false promise of inter alia marriage, employment, promotion or by suppressing identity has been made an offence under Section 69 of the BNS.
The act of hiring, employing, or engaging a child to commit an offence, is made a punishable offence under Section 95 of BNS, and entails penalty of imprisonment for a minimum period of seven years, extendable to ten years.
To address the rising hit and run cases, Section 106(2) of the BNS, 2023 has been inserted. However, due to several concerns raised by transporters and drivers across the country, Section 106(2) of BNS, 2023 has been excluded from coming into effect.
Commission, attempt, abetment or conspiracy of organized crimes and terrorist acts have been made punishable under Sections 111 and 113 of the BNS 2023, which were scattered in different statutes earlier.
A category of culpable homicide relating to ‘lynching' along with a provision for offences of ‘mob-lynching' has been introduced in BNS in Section 103(2) of the BNS.
‘Attempt to commit suicide' has been removed as an offence in the BNS, 2023.
Specific types of ‘Organised Crime' are introduced as offences under Section 109 of BNS, which was not covered under IPC but is a prevailing offence under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (‘MCOCA').

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) has brought a significant change in the procedural aspects of criminal laws, some of which are as under:

Electronic communication for registration of FIRs and issuance of summons/ warrants, is now an accepted norm.
Provision for registrations of “Zero FIR's”, i.e., FIRs registered at one jurisdiction to be transferred to another jurisdiction, has been added.
BNSS now provides discretionary powers to the police in relation to the method of arrest for serious offences. However, the usage of handcuffs by the officer at the time of arrest is restored under Section 46 of BNSS.
Declaration of a “proclaimed offender” has been extended to include offences that are punishable with imprisonment of 10 years or more, or with life imprisonment, or with death, under Section 84(4) of BNSS.
In a step to make the law victim centric, Section 193(3)(ii) mandates that the police officer to inform the progress of investigation to the informant or victim within 90 days of the investigation.
Section 398 of the BNSS provides for witness protection schemes, a provision that was not present in Code of Criminal Procedure.
Section 479 of BNSS has relaxed provisions for bail of undertrial prisoners. A more sympathetic approach has been adopted for first time offenders by instituting release on bonds, if such prisoners have undergone detention for the period extending up to one third of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence.

Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 has expanded the provisions of evidence placed before the Courts in inter alia the following manner:

The definition of “documents” is expanded to include electronic or digital record on emails, server logs, documents on computers, laptop or smartphone, messages, websites, cloud, locational evidence and voice mail messages stored on digital devices under Section 2(1)(d) of BSA.
Similarly, the definition of ‘evidence' has been enlarged to include any information given electronically under Section 2(1)(e) of BSA. This will permit the appearance of witnesses, accused, experts and victims to depose their evidence through electronic means.
Section 58 of the BSA expands the scope of secondary evidence by including oral / written admissions or testimonies of a persons who have examined the document.
‘Coercion' has been added to Section 22 of BSA as one of the acts causing a confession to become irrelevant.
As per Section 61 of the BSA, admissibility of electronic or digital records will be in parity i.e., have the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as other documents.

Features That Could Have An Adverse Impact

While all of the aforementioned appears to be addressing concerns about the changing scenario of the nation, some of the elements that may be claimed to be sterner than those of the earlier criminal laws are as follows:

The duration of police remand has been increased from the earlier maximum term of 15 days to 60 to 90 days. This could raise concerns alleging the arbitrary increase in the powers of the police to the detriment of the public.
The usage of hand-cuffs and solitary confinement have been held inhuman and barbaric by the Courts of India. Despite the same, these have been re-introduced in the new criminal laws.
Without defining Community Service, the punishments could lead to arbitrary allocation of tasks that could be against human dignity.
The introduction of the offence of ‘mob-lynching' could turn out to be an indirect threat to the fundamental right of peaceful protests and rallies.
While Section 106(2) which increases the punishment for hit and run cases, has been put on hold, the issue of vehicular accidents being caused by failure of automobiles seems to be ignored.
With the introduction of electronic communication as evidence, there seem to be minimal measures for ensuring that such electronic communication is not fake or forged.

Although, the enactment of the New Criminal Laws is an essential departure from the colonial rules, the practical impact of these laws on the society at large and the challenges which may arise are yet to be determined. However, as citizens, we always look at the Courts for justice and we hope that appropriate measures will be taken to address concerns voiced about the not-so-widely accepted New Criminal Laws.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Criminal Law

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Explore legal options if forensic assistants can be called experts under new crime laws: home ministry to uts.

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: Government policies and interventions

What’s the ongoing story- Before the implementation of three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs told all UTs that legal examination has to be done whether the existing forensic assistants can be notified as forensic experts since after the implementation of new laws, their visits will increase substantially.

Prerequisites:

— Why new criminal laws have been introduced?

— What are the important changes made?

Key takeaways:

— In February, the Centre issued three gazette notifications, informing that the three new criminal laws will be effective July 1 .

— According to the section 176(3) of BNSS, it provides for the visit of forensic experts to the scene of crime to collect evidence in offences with punishment of 7 years or more.

— In the meeting, a source said it was also discussed that since e-FIRs can be lodged by anyone, it should not be available for public viewing or in other police searches unless the complaint has been signed within 3 days by the complainant.

— Current status of various UTs: Delhi: Training has been organised in collaboration with central detective training institutes, Bhopal and Ghaziabad. The FSL has also been restructured and 120 technical posts created…

For Your Information:

— Detail of the bill: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, to replace the Indian Penal Code; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, for CrPC; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023, for the Indian Evidence Act.

— The new criminal law code makes some crucial changes. The Bills for the first time bring terrorism, corruption and organised crime under the ambit of ordinary criminal law. These aspects were reserved for stringent special legislation since they upend the general protections by reversing the burden of proof on the accused to restrict bail.

— Other changes, like extending the time limit for police custody from 15 to 90 days, raise concerns about personal liberty and misuse of police powers.

— Justice Chandrachud said , “These laws aim at digitising various aspects of criminal procedure. This is a significant step towards modernising the justice system. From the initial registration of a first information report ( FIR ) to the final delivery of judgment, every stage of a criminal investigation is slated to be recorded digitally under the purview of the proposed legislation,”

Points to Ponder:

— What are the key provisions of the new criminal laws?

— What are the issues related to the new criminal law?

— Evolution of criminal laws in India.

— What committees were formed to reform India’s Criminal Justice System?

Post Read Question:

What was the need to introduce new criminal laws in India? Analyze the potential benefits and concerns associated with these new laws.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Express View on new criminal law code: Law and liberty

Lok Sabha passes three criminal law Bills: Here are the key changes

Govt may ask big companies to test each batch of spices

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance.

Mains Examination: GS-II: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

What’s the ongoing story- With Singapore and Hong Kong recalling spice mixes from India for having higher than prescribed limit of a pesticide residue, the country’s apex food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mulling a way to ensure all batches of spices and spice mixed for Indian markets by big manufacturers are tested by the companies themselves.

— What is FSSAI?

— What are the legislative frameworks of FSSAI?

— What is ethylene oxide?

— “It is still under discussion but we are planning to mandate testing for each batch of spices — only for the big manufacturers. There are several vendors who process spices in small quantities and sell it locally, this move would not be applicable to them,” said a senior government official in the know of the matter.

— Asking smaller manufacturers to test each batch would be a cost burden for them, the official said. More importantly, smaller vendors are unlikely to use fumigators like ethylene oxide.

— At present, spices, like most other food products, are tested during the random checks conducted by FSSAI and state food safety departments.

— The move to test every batch of spices would be on the lines of the quality control and testing that FSSAI already has in place for fortified foods.

— Ethylene oxide, used to fumigate spices to prevent contamination, was the compound found in higher quantities in spices in Singapore and Hong Kong. After spraying, it breaks down into 2-chloroethanol, which is also considered when testing a product for the maximum residue limit.

— Ethylene Oxide is not approved for use in spices in India, however, it is commonly used world over and is usually found in spices that are exported.

— Ethylene oxide is used by the spice industry as a fumigant to reduce microbial contamination, such as E. coli and Salmonella. It is a colourless, highly flammable and very reactive gas that kills bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is an industrial chemical.

— Why is food safety an important issue?

— What are the challenges associated with food safety in India?

— What are some of the important initiatives for food safety in India?

— What is the State Food Safety Index (SFSI)?

— What are E. coli and Salmonella?

Consider the following statements: (2018)

1. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

2. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is under the charge of Director General of Health Services in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

UPSC Issue at a Glance | Food Safety : 5 Key Questions You Must Know for Prelims and Mains

FSSAI sets up lab network to test food for pathogens

Nature holds a light show

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance, physical geography.

Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-III: Important Geophysical phenomena, Environment, Science & Technology.

What’s the ongoing story- The night sky was lit up by northern lights, or aurora borealis, at Hanle village in Ladakh early Saturday morning. Northern lights were also witnessed in other parts of the world, including in the United States and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, southern lights, or aurora australis, were spotted in countries such as New Zealand and Australia.

— What are auroras?

— Why do auroras occur?

— What is a geomagnetic storm?

— The northern lights- also known as aurora usually don’t reach that far south. They are most often seen in higher latitudes closer to the North Pole.

— Solar storms occur when the Sun emits huge bursts of energy, leading to the release of a stream of charged particles, some of which get caught in the polar regions of the Earth. These particles interact with gas molecules in the upper atmosphere and produce a color called Aurora. The current solar storm was the biggest in 20 years.

— Auroras are essentially natural lights that appear as bright, swirling curtains in the night sky and can be seen in a range of colours , including blue, red, yellow, green, and orange. These lights primarily appear near the poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres all year round but sometimes they expand to lower latitudes (to know why, scroll down). As mentioned before, in the north, the display is called the aurora borealis; in the south, it is known as the aurora australis.

— What is meant by a solar storm?

— What is Earth’s magnetic field?

— How are solar flares different from Coronal Mass Ejections’ (CMEs)?

— What is the scientific significance of the aurora?

Consider the following statements with regard to auroras:

1. Auroras are essentially natural lights that appear as bright, swirling curtains in the night sky.

2. In the north, it is called the aurora borealis; in the south, it is known as the aurora australis.

3. It occurs due to activity on the surface of the Sun.

How many of the statements given above are true?

(d) None of the above

What are northern and southern lights? Why do they occur?

Over 300 killed as flash floods hit north Afghanistan, says UN

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography

Mains Examination: GS-I: Geography

What’s the ongoing story- Flash floods, that have ripped through northern Afghanistan, have left more than 300 people dead, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said. The WFP, which operates throughout Afghanistan, said on X that floods had killed more than 300 people in the worst-hit province of Baghlan, where more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. However, it did not give a source for its figure.

— What is a flash flood?

— What are the reasons for climate change?

— Where is Afghanistan located on the map?

— A climate-sensitive nation, Afghanistan was battered by a similar calamity in April as heavy rains and flash floods resulted in the deaths of at least 100 people across 10 provinces in Afghanistan.

— Afghanistan’s vulnerability to climate change is exacerbated by its relatively dry winter, making it challenging for the soil to absorb rainfall.

— This vulnerability is compounded by the nation’s prolonged history of conflict, spanning four decades, and its status as one of the poorest countries globally.

— According to scientists, Afghanistan is among the least prepared nations to confront the consequences of global warming.

— Excessive or continuous rainfall over a period of days, or during particular seasons can lead to stagnation of water and cause flooding. Flash floods refer to such a situation, but occurring in a much shorter span of time.

— In India, flash floods are often associated with cloudbursts – sudden, intense rainfall in a short period of time. Himalayan states further face the challenge of overflowing glacial lakes, formed due to the melting of glaciers, and their numbers have been increasing in the last few years.

— India is the worst flood-affected country in the world after Bangladesh and accounts for one-fifth of the global death count due to floods. Flash floods have been commonly witnessed in cities like Chennai and Mumbai .

— What are the government initiatives to tackle flash floods?

— How anthropogenic activities are responsible for these climate disasters?

— What is the impact of floods in India?

Consider the following statements with respect to ‘flash flood’:

1. Flash floods lead to sudden and intense rainfall in a short period of time.

2. GLOP that occurred in Sikkim is a type of flash flood.

Explained: What are flash floods and why they may increase in the next few years

After coal and gas, govt bolsters hydro capacity to meet rising peak demand

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Government policies and interventions; Infrastructure-Energy, Environment

What’s the ongoing story- The Ministry of Power said it has “optimised” hydropower generation to make available an additional 4GW capacity, weeks after it instructed fifteen imported coal-based and all gas-based thermal plants to be operational during the summer months. With peak power demand set to touch 240 GW in June, the ministry’s latest effort to avoid supply shortfall reflects growing concern over risk of outages…

— What are the state-owned discoms?

— What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy?

— What is the share of renewable and non-renewable energy in India’s energy production?

— The reliance on coal and gas to meet peak demand is more pronounced given the absence of adequate energy storage infrastructure in the country, which can help store excess energy generated by solar and wind plants during non-peak hours and release it during peak hours.

— In India, which is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, around 40 percent of installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources. This green push has resulted in a sharp 24 percent reduction in the emission intensity of GDP between 2005 and 2016, but it has also thrown up challenges in meeting peak demand with a grid being increasingly powered by renewables.

— Even as the share of installed capacity of renewables like solar and wind has increased to nearly 29 percent of total capacity in FY24, compared to 20 percent in FY20, these sources of power do not have high capacity utilisation as they are variable in nature.

— Energy storage is needed alongside green energy sources to primarily balance out the variability in renewable generation – electricity is generated only when the sun shines or when the wind blows. This is not always in sync with the demand cycle. Storage can help tide over this shortcoming associated with renewables.

— With lithium-ion battery storage being ruled out as unviable for grid application, at least for now, an emerging policy resolve is that solar and wind-based generation cannot continue to be pushed down to struggling electricity distribution companies or discoms.

— To compensate for the intermittency, pumped-storage hydroelectric plants – where it stores energy in the form of the gravitational potential energy of water … is being seen as the most viable alternative. These projects thereby work similarly to a giant battery, because they can store power and then release it when needed.

— In its latest World Energy Outlook, IEA said India will see the largest energy demand growth of any country or region in the world over the next three decades.

— It projected India’s energy supply to rise from 42 exajoules (EJ) in 2022 to 53.7 EJ in 2030 and 73 EJ in 2050 under stated policies scenarios and 47.6 EJ by 2030 and 60.3 EJ by 2050 as per announced pledges.

— What steps need to be taken to strengthen energy storage infrastructure in the country?

— Why there is an increase in the electricity demand in the state?

— What are the government schemes related to renewable energy?

“In spite of adverse environmental impact, coal mining is still inevitable for development”. Discuss. (2017)

The difficulty with renewables

Express View on India’s energy future: Going solar

Khanij Bidesh India may acquire lithium assets in Australia in FY25

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance, Economy, General Science.

Mains Examination: GS-I, GS-III: Distribution of Key Natural Resources, Mineral & Energy Resources, Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

What’s the ongoing story- Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) hopes to acquire a lithium block in Australia this year, a top official said on Saturday. KABIL, a joint venture of three PSUs to scout for mineral assets overseas, has been working in Australia for the last year, Mines secretary V L Kantha Rao said.

— What is lithium?

— What is a ‘lithium triangle’?

— Read about the KABIL.

— KABIL is owned by three public sector undertakings — National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd ( HCL ) and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd (MECL).

— Lithium is the most important mineral for the energy transition, a fundamental component of lithium-ion batteries, which power electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems.

— The government had earlier said that India would pump in about Rs 200 crore to explore and develop five lithium mines in Argentina. Argentina is part of the ‘lithium triangle’ along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of the world’s total lithium resources.

— Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal, which is a vital ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones.

— India is 100 per cent reliant on imports for its lithium.

— Which country has the largest reserves of lithium in the world?

— What is the status of lithium in India? Lithium reserves in India.

— What are lithium-ion batteries? How do they work?

— What is the importance of lithium in today’s world?

( Thought Process: What are the areas where lithium is used? What properties of lithium make it significant?)

— What do you understand by critical minerals?

— What are the side-effects of lithium mining?

— Map work: Location of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Australia; global lithium reserves; lithium reserves in India. (Refer atlas)

Regarding Lithium-ion batteries, consider the following statements:

1. It uses aqueous electrolyte solutions.

2. The energy density of lithium-ion batteries is nearly ten times that of nickel-cadmium batteries.

3. It does not undergo corrosion as lithium is a non-reactive metal.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

Lithium ‘inferred’ in J&K — how significant is this find, what next?

AI chatbots want to be factual. But can they be a credible news source?

Mains Examination: GS-III: Science and Technology

What’s the ongoing story- First it was the Browser Company’s Arc web browser, and now it is social networking platform X’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool Grok – AI platforms are now being trained to produce summaries of content on a particular site, triggering concerns over its impact on traffic to news publishers, and their potential to generate and propagate misleading content harming the online information economy.

— What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

— What are chatbots?

— While offering summaries of news events and trending topics on X is not new and was a feature under the leadership of Jack Dorset when the social network was called Twitter, this is the first time the platform will use AI to create summaries of events.

— Many have questioned whether AI tools should ever even be seen as a factual source. Many people in the industry have argued that AI bots are better at creative tasks than being authoritative news sources given their hallucination problem.

— In countries with low digital literacy, there could be a potential that users assume such chatbots to be an authoritative source of factual information without realising some of their pitfalls.

— According to Google , Large Language Models (LLMs) are large general-purpose language models that can be pre-trained and then fine-tuned for specific purposes. In simple words, these models are trained to solve common language problems such as text classification, question answering, text generation across industries, document summarisation, etc.

— An LLM is like a super smart computer program that can comprehend and create human-like text. It is trained on massive data sets which are essentially patterns, structures, and relationships with languages. An LLM can also be seen as a tool that helps computers understand and produce human language.

— What are the ethical issues concerning AI?

— What are the challenges of the AI?

— Problem of fake news and misinformation with these AI chatbots

With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (2020)

1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units

2. Create meaningful short stories and songs

3. Disease diagnosis

4. Text-to-Speech Conversion

5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2, 3 and 5 only

(b) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Explained: What is an LLM, the backbone of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini?

The Sunday Express Magazine eye

Gut bacteria can chew up your cholesterol.

Preliminary Examination: General Science

Mains Examination: GS-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

What’s the ongoing story- Dr Suranjit Chatterjee writes- “ Nowadays, we hear many conversations on gut bacteria being the pivot of our health and well-being, impacting our key lifestyle markers like cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides, body fat and haemoglobin. In fact, latest research by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, along with Massachusetts General Hospital, has found that specific bacteria in the gut can chew up cholesterol, lowering its levels in the blood and consequently eliminating the risk of plaque formation in the heart arteries.”

— What is the Oscillibacter bacteria?

— Where are Oscillibacter bacteria found?

— What is cholesterol and its types?

— Over a decade-long study, researchers found that people who had Oscillibacter bacteria in their gut had lower cholesterol levels than those with poor levels of the same.

— They break down cholesterol so that it cannot be absorbed into bloodstream. Rather the end product passes through stool. Earlier research has also shown similar effects. Several strains of Lactobacillus bacteria — a common gut bacteria — entrap cholesterol from their surroundings and incorporate it into their membranes. This is another way of eliminating cholesterol from bloodstream.

— Oscillibacter bacteria influence bile acids, which are essential for fat digestion and absorption. Once they finish their functions, bile acids return to the liver for recycling. But some amount remains in the gut, becoming the food for gut bacteria and growing them. In this process, the gut bacteria break down bile acids into secondary bile acids, which regulate cholesterol metabolism.

— Furthermore, bacteria break down dietary fibres through fermentation and produce short chain fatty acids. These inhibit cholesterol formation and keep their levels low.

— What diseases are associated with high cholesterol?

— How do gut bacteria help control cholesterol levels in blood?

— What are Lactobacillus bacteria?

— Where are Lactobacillus bacteria found?

— What is the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol?

— Why is cholesterol important?

— What is the difference between fat and cholesterol?

What are Non-Communicable Diseases? Why are non-communicable diseases increasing in India?

Do high levels of ‘good’ cholesterol mean lower risk of heart disease? How HDL-C is actually linked to cardiovascular health

For any queries and feedback, contact manas.srivastava@ indianexpress.com

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John Abraham, a 51-year-old vegetarian actor, is praised for his discipline and work ethic by fellow actors. His vegetarianism and sugar-free diet have numerous health benefits, including lower risk of chronic diseases and better weight management. A well-planned vegetarian diet can provide adequate protein and maintain muscle mass.

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Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand

The porn star testified for eight hours at donald trump’s hush-money trial. this is how it went..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

It’s 6:41 AM. I’m feeling a little stressed because I’m running late. It’s the fourth week of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial. It’s a white collar trial. Most of the witnesses we’ve heard from have been, I think, typical white collar witnesses in terms of their professions.

We’ve got a former publisher, a lawyer, accountants. The witness today, a little less typical, Stormy Daniels, porn star in a New York criminal courtroom in front of a jury more accustomed to the types of witnesses they’ve already seen. There’s a lot that could go wrong.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Today, what happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of Donald J. Trump. As before, my colleague Jonah Bromwich was inside the courtroom.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It’s Friday, May 10th.

So it’s now day 14 of this trial. And I think it’s worth having you briefly, and in broad strokes, catch listeners up on the biggest developments that have occurred since you were last on, which was the day that opening arguments were made by both the defense and the prosecution. So just give us that brief recap.

Sure. It’s all been the prosecution’s case so far. And prosecutors have a saying, which is that the evidence is coming in great. And I think for this prosecution, which is trying to show that Trump falsified business records to cover up a sex scandal, to ease his way into the White House in 2016, the evidence has been coming in pretty well. It’s come in well through David Pecker, former publisher of The National Enquirer, who testified that he entered into a secret plot with Trump and Michael Cohen, his fixer at the time, to suppress negative stories about Trump, the candidate.

It came in pretty well through Keith Davidson, who was a lawyer to Stormy Daniels in 2016 and negotiated the hush money payment. And we’ve seen all these little bits and pieces of evidence that tell the story that prosecutors want to tell. And the case makes sense so far. We can’t tell what the jury is thinking, as we always say.

But we can tell that there’s a narrative that’s coherent and that matches up with the prosecution’s opening statement. Then we come to Tuesday. And that day really marks the first time that the prosecution’s strategy seems a little bit risky because that’s the day that Stormy Daniels gets called to the witness stand.

OK, well, just explain why the prosecution putting Stormy Daniels on the stand would be so risky. And I guess it makes sense to answer that in the context of why the prosecution is calling her as a witness at all.

Well, you can see why it makes sense to have her. The hush money payment was to her. The cover-up of the hush money payment, in some ways, concerns her. And so she’s this character who’s very much at the center of this story. But according to prosecutors, she’s not at the center of the crime. The prosecution is telling a story, and they hope a compelling one. And arguably, that story starts with Stormy Daniels. It starts in 2006, when Stormy Daniels says that she and Trump had sex, which is something that Trump has always denied.

So if prosecutors were to not call Stormy Daniels to the stand, you would have this big hole in the case. It would be like, effect, effect, effect. But where is the cause? Where is the person who set off this chain reaction? But Stormy Daniels is a porn star. She’s there to testify about sex. Sex and pornography are things that the jurors were not asked about during jury selection. And those are subjects that bring up all kinds of different complex reactions in people.

And so, when the prosecutors bring Stormy Daniels to the courtroom, it’s very difficult to know how the jurors will take it, particularly given that she’s about to describe a sexual episode that she says she had with the former president. Will the jurors think that makes sense, as they sit here and try to decide a falsifying business records case, or will they ask themselves, why are we hearing this?

So the reason why this is the first time that the prosecution’s strategy is, for journalists like you, a little bit confusing, is because it’s the first time that the prosecution seems to be taking a genuine risk in what they’re putting before these jurors. Everything else has been kind of cut and dry and a little bit more mechanical. This is just a wild card.

This is like live ammunition, to some extent. Everything else is settled and controlled. And they know what’s going to happen. With Stormy Daniels, that’s not the case.

OK, so walk us through the testimony. When the prosecution brings her to the stand, what actually happens?

It starts, as every witness does, with what’s called direct examination, which is a fancy word for saying prosecutors question Stormy Daniels. And they have her tell her story. First, they have her tell the jury about her education and where she grew up and her professional experience. And because of Stormy Daniels’s biography, that quickly goes into stripping, and then goes into making adult films.

And I thought the prosecutor who questioned her, Susan Hoffinger, had this nice touch in talking about that, because not only did she ask Daniels about acting in adult films. But she asked her about writing and directing them, too, emphasizing the more professional aspects of that work and giving a little more credit to the witness, as if to say, well, you may think this or you may think that. But this is a person with dignity who took what she did seriously. Got it.

What’s your first impression of Daniels as a witness?

It’s very clear that she’s nervous. She’s speaking fast. She’s laughing to herself and making small jokes. But the tension in the room is so serious from the beginning, from the moment she enters, that those jokes aren’t landing. So it just feels, like, really heavy and still and almost oppressive in there. So Daniels talking quickly, seeming nervous, giving more answers than are being asked of her by the prosecution, even before we get to the sexual encounter that she’s about to describe, all of that presents a really discomfiting impression, I would say.

And how does this move towards the encounter that Daniels ultimately has?

It starts at a golf tournament in 2006, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Daniels meets Trump there. There are other celebrities there, too. They chatted very briefly. And then she received a dinner invitation from him. She thought it over, she says. And she goes to have dinner with Trump, not at a restaurant, by the way. But she’s invited to join him in the hotel suite.

So she gets to the hotel suite. And his bodyguard is there. And the hotel door is cracked open. And the bodyguard greets her and says she looks nice, this and that. And she goes in. And there’s Donald Trump, just as expected. But what’s not expected, she says, is that he’s not wearing what you would wear to a dinner with a stranger, but instead, she says, silk or satin pajamas. She asked him to change, she says. And he obliges.

He goes, and he puts on a dress shirt and dress pants. And they sit down at the hotel suite’s dining room table. And they have a kind of bizarre dinner. Trump is asking her very personal questions about pornography and safe sex. And she testifies that she teased him about vain and pompous he is. And then at some point, she goes to the bathroom. And she sees that he has got his toiletries in there, his Old Spice, his gold tweezers.

Very specific details.

Yeah, we’re getting a ton of detail in this scene. And the reason we’re getting those is because prosecutors are trying to elicit those details to establish that this is a credible person, that this thing did happen, despite what Donald Trump and his lawyers say. And the reason you can know it happened, prosecutors seem to be saying, is because, look at all these details she can still summon up.

She comes out of the bathroom. And she says that Donald Trump is on the hotel bed. And what stands out to me there is what she describes as a very intense physical reaction. She says that she blacked out. And she quickly clarifies, she doesn’t mean from drugs or alcohol. She means that, she says, that the intensity of this experience was such that, suddenly, she can’t remember every detail. The prosecution asks a question that cuts directly to the sex. Essentially, did you start having sex with him? And Daniels says that she did. And she continues to provide more details than even, I think, the prosecution wanted.

And I think we don’t want to go chapter and verse through this claimed sexual encounter. But I wonder what details stand out and which details feel important, given the prosecution’s strategy here.

All the details stand out because it’s a story about having had sex with a former president. And the more salacious and more private the details feel, the more you’re going to remember them. So we’ll remember that Stormy Daniels said what position they had sex in. We’ll remember that she said he didn’t use a condom. Whether that’s important to the prosecution’s case, now, that’s a much harder question to answer, as we’ve been saying.

But what I can tell you is, as she’s describing having had sex with Donald Trump, and Donald Trump is sitting right there, and Eric Trump, his son, is sitting behind him, seeming to turn a different color as he hears this embarrassment of his father being described to a courtroom full of reporters at this trial, it’s hard to even describe the energy in that room. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. And it was just Daniels’s testimony and, seemingly, the former President’s emotions. And you almost felt like you were trapped in there with both of them as this description was happening.

Well, I think it’s important to try to understand why the prosecution is getting these details, these salacious, carnal, pick your word, graphic details about sex with Donald Trump. What is the value, if other details are clearly making the point that she’s recollecting something?

Well, I think, at this point, we can only speculate. But one thing we can say is, this was uncomfortable. This felt bad. And remember, prosecutor’s story is not about the sex. It’s about trying to hide the sex. So if you’re trying to show a jury why it might be worthwhile to hide a story, it might be worth —

Providing lots of salacious details that a person would want to hide.

— exposing them to how bad that story feels and reminding them that if they had been voters and they had heard that story, and, in fact, they asked Daniels this very question, if you hadn’t accepted hush money, if you hadn’t signed that NDA, is this the story you would have told? And she said, yes. And so where I think they’re going with this, but we can’t really be sure yet, is that they’re going to tell the jurors, hey, that story, you can see why he wanted to cover that up, can’t you?

You mentioned the hush money payments. What testimony does Daniels offer about that? And how does it advance the prosecution’s case of business fraud related to the hush money payments?

So little evidence that it’s almost laughable. She says that she received the hush money. But we actually already heard another witness, her lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson, testify that he had received the hush money payment on her behalf. And she testified about feeling as if she had to sell this story because the election was fast approaching, almost as if her leverage was slipping away because she knew this would be bad for Trump.

That feels important. But just help me understand why it’s important.

Well, what the prosecution has been arguing is that Trump covered up this hush money payment in order to conceal a different crime. And that crime, they say, was to promote his election to the presidency by illegal means.

Right, we’ve talked about this in the past.

So when Daniels ties her side of the payment into the election, it just reminds the jurors maybe, oh, right, this is what they’re arguing.

So how does the prosecution end this very dramatic, and from everything you’re saying, very tense questioning of Stormy Daniels about this encounter?

Well, before they can even end, the defense lawyers go and they consult among themselves. And then, with the jury out of the room, one of them stands up. And he says that the defense is moving for a mistrial.

On what terms?

He says that the testimony offered by Daniels that morning is so prejudicial, so damning to Trump in the eyes of the jury, that the trial can no longer be fair. Like, how could these jurors have heard these details and still be fair when they render their verdict? And he says a memorable expression. He says, you can’t un-ring that bell, meaning they heard it. They can’t un-hear it. It’s over. Throw out this trial. It should be done.

Wow. And what is the response from the judge?

So the judge, Juan Merchan, he hears them out. And he really hears them out. But at the end of their arguments, he says, I do think she went a little too far. He says that. He said, there were things that were better left unsaid.

By Stormy Daniels?

By Stormy Daniels. And he acknowledges that she is a difficult witness. But, he says, the remedy for that is not a mistrial, is not stopping the whole thing right now. The remedy for that is cross-examination. If the defense feels that there are issues with her story, issues with her credibility, they can ask her whatever they want. They can try to win the jury back over. If they think this jury has been poisoned by this witness, well, this is their time to provide the antidote. The antidote is cross-examination. And soon enough, cross-examination starts. And it is exactly as intense and combative as we expected.

We’ll be right back.

So, Jonah, how would you characterize the defense’s overall strategy in this intense cross-examination of Stormy Daniels?

People know the word impeach from presidential impeachments. But it has a meaning in law, too. You impeach a witness, and, specifically, their credibility. And that’s what the defense is going for here. They are going to try to make Stormy Daniels look like a liar, a fraud, an extortionist, a money-grubbing opportunist who wanted to take advantage of Trump and sought to do so by any means necessary.

And what did that impeachment strategy look like in the courtroom?

The defense lawyer who questions Stormy Daniels is a woman named Susan Necheles. She’s defended Trump before. And she’s a bit of a cross-examination specialist. We even saw her during jury selection bring up these past details to confront jurors who had said nasty things about Trump on social media with. And she wants to do the same thing with Daniels. She wants to bring up old interviews and old tweets and things that Daniels has said in the past that don’t match what Daniels is saying from the stand.

What’s a specific example? And do they land?

Some of them land. And some of them don’t. One specific example is that Necheles confronts Daniels with this old tweet, where Daniels says that she’s going to dance down the street if Trump goes to jail. And what she’s trying to show there is that Daniels is out for revenge, that she hates Trump, and that she wants to see him go to jail. And that’s why she’s testifying against him.

And Daniels is very interesting during the cross-examination. It’s almost as if she’s a different person. She kind of squares her shoulders. And she sits up a little straighter. And she leans forward. Daniels is ready to fight. But it doesn’t quite land. The tweet actually says, I’ll dance down the street when he’s selected to go to jail.

And Daniels goes off on this digression about how she knows that people don’t get selected to go to jail. That’s not how it works. But she can’t really unseat this argument, that she’s a political enemy of Donald Trump. So that one kind of sticks, I would say. But there are other moves that Necheles tries to pull that don’t stick.

So unlike the prosecution, which typically used words like adult, adult film, Necheles seems to be taking every chance she can get to say porn, or pornography, or porn star, to make it sound base or dirty. And so when she starts to ask Daniels about actually being in pornography, writing, acting, and directing sex films, she tries to land a punch line, Necheles does. She says, so you have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real, right?

As if to say, perhaps this story you have told about entering Trump’s suite in Lake Tahoe and having sex with him was made up.

Just another one of your fictional stories about sex. But Daniels comes back and says, the sex in the films, it’s very much real, just like what happened to me in that room. And so, when you have this kind of combat of a lawyer cross-examining very aggressively and the witness fighting back, you can feel the energy in the room shift as one lands a blow or the other does. But here, Daniels lands one back. And the other issue that I think Susan Necheles runs into is, she tries to draw out disparities from interviews that Daniels gave, particularly to N-TOUCH, very early on once the story was out.

It’s kind of like a tabloid magazine?

But some of the disparities don’t seem to be landing quite like Necheles would want. So she tries to do this complicated thing about where the bodyguard was in the room when Daniels walked into the room, as described in an interview in a magazine. But in that magazine interview, as it turns out, Daniels mentioned that Trump was wearing pajamas. And so, if I’m a juror, I don’t care where the bodyguard is. I’m thinking about, oh, yeah, I remember that Stormy Daniels said now in 2024 that Trump was wearing pajamas.

I’m curious if, as somebody in the room, you felt that the defense was effective in undermining Stormy Daniels’s credibility? Because what I took from the earlier part of our conversation was that Stormy Daniels is in this courtroom on behalf of the prosecution to tell a story that’s uncomfortable and has the kind of details that Donald Trump would be motivated to try to hide. And therefore, this defense strategy is to say, those details about what Trump might want to hide, you can’t trust them. So does this back and forth effectively hurt Stormy Daniels’s credibility, in your estimation?

I don’t think that Stormy Daniels came off as perfectly credible about everything she testified about. There are incidents that were unclear or confusing. There were things she talked about that I found hard to believe, when she, for instance, denied that she had attacked Trump in a tweet or talked about her motivations. But about what prosecutors need, that central story, the story of having had sex with him, we can’t know whether it happened.

But there weren’t that many disparities in these accounts over the years. In terms of things that would make me doubt the story that Daniels was telling, details that don’t add up, those weren’t present. And you don’t have to take my word for that, nor should you. But the judge is in the room. And he says something very, very similar.

What does he say? And why does he say it?

Well, he does it when the defense, again, at the end of the day on Thursday, calls for a mistrial.

With a similar argument as before?

Not only with a similar argument as before, but, like, almost the exact same argument. And I would say that I was astonished to see them do this. But I wasn’t because I’ve covered other trials where Trump is the client. And in those trials, the lawyers, again and again, called for a mistrial.

And what does Judge Marchan say in response to this second effort to seek a mistrial?

Let me say, to this one, he seems a little less patient. He says that after the first mistrial ruling, two days before, he went into his chambers. And he read every decision he had made about the case. He took this moment to reflect on the first decision. And he found that he had, in his own estimation, which is all he has, been fair and not allowed evidence that was prejudicial to Trump into this trial. It could continue. And so he said that again. And then he really almost turned on the defense. And he said that the things that the defense was objecting to were things that the defense had made happen.

He says that in their opening statement, the defense could have taken issue with many elements of the case, about whether there were falsified business records, about any of the other things that prosecutors are saying happened. But instead, he says, they focused their energy on denying that Trump ever had sex with Daniels.

And so that was essentially an invitation to the prosecution to call Stormy Daniels as a witness and have her say from the stand, yes, I had this sexual encounter. The upshot of it is that the judge not only takes the defense to task. But he also just says that he finds Stormy Daniels’s narrative credible. He doesn’t see it as having changed so much from year to year.

Interesting. So in thinking back to our original question here, Jonah, about the idea that putting Stormy Daniels on the stand was risky, I wonder if, by the end of this entire journey, you’re reevaluating that idea because it doesn’t sound like it ended up being super risky. It sounded like it ended up working reasonably well for the prosecution.

Well, let me just assert that it doesn’t really matter what I think. The jury is going to decide this. There’s 12 people. And we can’t know what they’re thinking. But my impression was that, while she was being questioned by the prosecution for the prosecution’s case, Stormy Daniels was a real liability. She was a difficult witness for them.

And the judge said as much. But when the defense cross-examined her, Stormy Daniels became a better witness, in part because their struggles to discredit her may have actually ended up making her story look more credible and stronger. And the reason that matters is because, remember, we said that prosecutors are trying to fill this hole in their case. Well, now, they have. The jury has met Stormy Daniels. They’ve heard her account. They’ve made of it what they will. And now, the sequence of events that prosecutors are trying to line up as they seek prison time for the former President really makes a lot of sense.

It starts with what Stormy Daniels says with sex in a hotel suite in 2006. It picks up years later, as Donald Trump is trying to win an election and, prosecutors say, suppressing negative stories, including Stormy Daniels’s very negative story. And the story that prosecutors are telling ends with Donald Trump orchestrating the falsification of business records to keep that story concealed.

Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Of course, thanks for having me.

The prosecution’s next major witness will be Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who arranged for the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Cohen is expected to take the stand on Monday.

Here’s what else you need to know today. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a defiant response to warnings from the United States that it would stop supplying weapons to Israel if Israel invades the Southern Gaza City of Rafah. So far, Israel has carried out a limited incursion into the city where a million civilians are sheltering, but has threatened a full invasion. In a statement, Netanyahu said, quote, “if we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

Meanwhile, high level ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been put on hold in part because of anger over Israel’s incursion into Rafah.

A reminder, tomorrow, we’ll be sharing the latest episode of our colleague’s new show, “The Interview” This week on “The Interview,” Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with radio host Charlamagne Tha God about his frustrations with how Americans talk about politics.

If me as a Black man, if I criticize Democrats, then I’m supporting MAGA. But if I criticize, you know, Donald Trump and Republicans, then I’m a Democratic shill. Why can’t I just be a person who deals in nuance?

Today’s episode was produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson. It was edited by Lexie Diao, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.

May 15, 2024 • 25:48 The Possible Collapse of the U.S. Home Insurance System
May 14, 2024 • 35:20 Voters Want Change. In Our Poll, They See It in Trump.
May 13, 2024 • 27:46 How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China
May 10, 2024 • 27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
May 9, 2024 • 34:42 One Strongman, One Billion Voters, and the Future of India
May 8, 2024 • 28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
May 7, 2024 • 27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
May 6, 2024 • 29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
May 3, 2024 • 25:33 The Protesters and the President
May 2, 2024 • 29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed
May 1, 2024 • 35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
April 30, 2024 • 27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonah E. Bromwich

Produced by Olivia Natt and Michael Simon Johnson

Edited by Lexie Diao

With Paige Cowett

Original music by Will Reid and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

This episode contains descriptions of an alleged sexual liaison.

What happened when Stormy Daniels took the stand for eight hours in the first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump?

Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was in the room.

On today’s episode

Jonah E. Bromwich , who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

A woman is walking down some stairs. She is wearing a black suit. Behind her stands a man wearing a uniform.

Background reading

In a second day of cross-examination, Stormy Daniels resisted the implication she had tried to shake down Donald J. Trump by selling her story of a sexual liaison.

Here are six takeaways from Ms. Daniels’s earlier testimony.

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We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

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THE BHARTAIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023

Language change

NEW PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means.

Hiring children below the age of 18 years to commit an offence.

Causing death by rash or negligent act and fleeing the scene of the incident

Mob Lynching

Organised crime and petty organised crimes

Terrorist Act

Theft of property of which value is less than five thousand rupees

Abetment outside India for offence in India

OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE

CHANGES IN PUNISHMENTS FOR CERTAIN OFFENCES

Causing death by negligence

Criminal breach of trust

Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant

Misconduct in public by a drunken person

REPEALED PROVISIONS

Attempt to die by suicide

DRAFTING ERRORS