Centre planning radical changes to IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act: Shah

The minister also praised the Delhi Police, which will provide security for G20-related meetings scheduled in the Capital from March, and said the force will bring laurels to the country.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Centre is planning “radical” changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Evidence Act, adding that the Delhi Police will be at the forefront of these changes.

Union home minister Amit Shah with Delhi police commissioner Sanjay Arora at the 76th Raising Day Parade of the Delhi Police at Kingsway Camp in New Delhi on Thursday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The minister also praised the Delhi Police, which will provide security for G20-related meetings scheduled in the Capital from March, and said the force will bring laurels to the country.

Speaking at the 76th Raising Day parade of the Delhi Police at the new Police Lines in Kingsway Camp, Shah said, “The Delhi Police, under the leadership of police commissioner Sanjay Arora, will have to stay alert round the clock, as the heads of a significant number of countries and international dignitaries will discuss important global issues in Delhi. I am sure that they will deliver their best and maintain their golden legacy of 76 years in making arrangements for security and traffic of the highest global standards.”

Shah noted that Delhi will be the first state to conduct forensic investigation in cases for which the punishment is imprisonment of six years and above.

Inducting five mobile forensic vans (MFVs) into the Delhi Police force, he said, “Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, the government is going to make radical changes in the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act in the days to come. These three laws would be brought in accordance with the time and spirit of the Constitution, and would be further strengthened with the availability of forensic and other evidence... For this, the network of forensic science has to be spread across the country.”

The minister added, “Delhi Police has started a trial of one of these reforms, under which forensic investigation is mandatory in all cases where the punishment provided is of more than six years. There is a great need to strengthen the judicial system of our country on the basis of forensic science evidence. When these MFVs, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and 14 different types of forensic kits, will visit crime scenes, the conviction rate will significantly increase.”

Shah also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently approved a budget for housing satisfaction ratio for Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and Delhi Police personnel. “We will increase the housing satisfaction ratio for CAPF and Delhi Police to over 60%, before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Hailing the Delhi Police for its role during the Covid-19 pandemic, Shah said, “During the pandemic, Delhi Police personnel helped all the elderly people like their own family members. As a result, the perception about Delhi Police has changed in a positive direction.”

Inaugurating the ‘m-Passport Seva’ initiative of Delhi Police, Shah said that people living in Delhi will now not have to worry about police clearance for their passport. “They will now get police clearance within five days as against the earlier 15 days,” he said.

Shah also paid tributes to Shambhu Dayal, an assistant sub-inspector who was stabbed by a snatcher in west Delhi’s Mayapuri last month, and later succumbed to his injuries.