Rejecting criticism that the three new criminal laws are “draconian and repressive”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said he was open to engaging with Opposition leaders to address grievances and hold a review of them but urged people to refrain from politicising it.

In a media interaction on Monday, the day Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) were rolled out, Amit Shah also stated all the three new criminal laws will be made available in Tamil and other regional languages mentioned in the eight schedule of Constitution. Proceedings too will happen in regional languages, he pointed out.

“I want to say one thing that the entire law will be made available in Tamil and the proceedings will also be in Tamil.. If they have any opposition to the name, they can raise it by meeting me. Neither the Tamil Nadu chief minister nor these MPs have sought time to meet me,” Shah said.

Leaders from the southern part of the country had strongly objected to new laws carrying names in Hindi which they said was difficult to understand for vernacular language speakers.

He also appealed to others too to meet him for grievance redressal on this issue as “boycotting” laws is not the solution. “There are many other ways to do politics,” he suggested.

The Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Manish Tiwari who has sought discussion in the Lok Sabha on the issue, have demanded re-examination of the laws as it was “forcibly” passed by suspending 146 MPs from Parliament proceedings in the previous regime.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP are “pretending to value the Constitution after an electoral and moral setback in the election”. “But the truth is that the new criminal laws that come into force today were passed forcibly by suspending 146 MPs. INDIA will not allow this ‘bulldozer law’ on Parliamentary proceedings anymore,” he added.

He said the laws are modern, protects the rights of the victims, and fix accountability on police forces, besides shifting the focus on delivering justice instead of giving punishment.

On the lack of adequate consultation, Shah observed that these are parochial and jaded arguments, aimed at misleading the people. These laws were passed after debates in both the Houses and scrutinised by a parliamentary committee, the Minister said. But for those with political colour, most of the suggestions given by the opposition members in the panel were accepted, he stated.

Legal fraternity

Meanwhile, the new laws drew mixed reactions from the legal fraternity and bar associations. The apex lawyers’ body, the Bar Council of India (BCI), offered support to the laws and had recently requested all bar associations across the country to desist from any immediate agitation or protest against the implementation of the new criminal codes.

But, a section of lawyers at Calcutta High Court and district courts in West Bengal abstained from judicial work on Monday on a protest call by the state’s Bar Council against the three new criminal laws. They dubbed the new laws “anti-people, undemocratic and draconian.”

Congress leader senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi was of the view that an opportunity to make genuine reforms was wasted and “cosmetic changes” have been brought about in new laws, as 90 per cent remains the same. “On the day this debate was being taken up in Rajya Sabha, I was the lead speaker. My speech was aborted due to the suspension of several MPs a few days earlier. During my research, I found that this was nothing but a manifestation of vanity to leave your imprint. Unfortunately, cosmetic changes, 90% remaining the same, a few words changed here and there and re-inaugurated as a new set of laws by this govt..,” said Singhvi.

However, senior advocate and former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Adish C Aggarwala termed the new criminal laws as a significant step towards modernising the criminal justice delivery system and delivery of time bound justice.

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