New criminal laws address evolving crimes: Senior Judge B.G. Dinesh

Karnataka Police Academy and Police Training School conduct awareness programme on new criminal laws, implications

Mysore/Mysuru: The new criminal laws have been introduced to address evolving situations and crimes, said Senior Civil Judge and District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Member-Secretary B.G. Dinesh this morning.

Effective from today (July 1), these new laws replace the decades-old Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The IPC (1860) and the Evidence Act (1872), enacted during the British regime, have been substituted with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. Similarly, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Judge Dinesh spoke at the inauguration of an awareness programme on the New Criminal Laws, jointly organised by the Karnataka Police Academy (KPA), Police Training School and various Departments including Judiciary, Police, Media, Prosecution, Prison and Correctional Service and Forensic Experts at the KPA auditorium.

He emphasised that the programme aimed to raise awareness among those responsible for implementing and enforcing these new laws. The emergence of new crimes necessitates the introduction of new laws. Various technical and electronic evidence are now considered in several cases, Dinesh added.

Addressing officials, he called for updating themselves with the new laws to improve conviction rates and expedite case proceedings. He also urged officials to raise awareness about these new criminal laws among students and various communities to curb offences.

The event featured discussions by invited resource persons including JSS Law College CEO Prof. K.A. Suresh and KPA Assistant Director H.S. Renukaradhya on the implications of the new criminal laws.

Among the dignitaries present at the programme were KPA Director M.S. Geetha, Deputy Director N. Niranjana Raj Urs, Mysuru Central Prison Chief Superintendent Ramesh, Senior Law Officer Raghu, Regional Forensic Science Laboratory Deputy Director Chandrashekar and former President of Mysuru District Journalists Association S.T. Ravikumar.