Kolkata: The West Bengal government has set up a seven-member committee headed by a retired judge of the Calcutta high court to review the three new criminal laws.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led administration issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday.
“The state government is pleased hereby to constitute a committee for reviewing the said criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA),” said the notification issued by state home department.
The three new laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam—came into effect across the country on July 1. The three laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.
According to the notification, the committee will be headed by retired justice Ashim Kumar Roy. It will also include state law minister Malay Ghatak, state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state advocate general, senior standing counsel of West Bengal in Supreme Court Sanjay Basu, West Bengal police chief and Kolkata police commissioner as members.
“The committee shall submit its findings in the form of a report within three months from the date of the notification,” it stated.
{{/usCountry}}“The committee shall submit its findings in the form of a report within three months from the date of the notification,” it stated.
{{/usCountry}}The committee may engage academic experts, senior advocates, research assistants and other legal experts. It can also carry out public consultation.
West Bengal is the third state after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which has set up a committee to amend the three criminal laws.
Earlier this month, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin constituted a one-man commission to recommend amendments to the three new criminal laws at the state level, including a change of name.
In June, Banerjee had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to defer the implementation of three criminal laws. Banerjee also sought further discussions on the three laws in the Parliament.