Login With Google
Two panels formed to revamp ‘British-era’ IPC
Why in news?
- The Home Ministry is all set to overhaul the Indian Penal Code (IPC) designed by the British. A senior government official said rebooting the code introduced by the British in 1860 was necessary as it is primarily based on the spirit of “master and servant.”
More in news
- Suggestions from States/UT’s: Home Ministry wrote to all States/UT’s seeking suggestions to amend various sections of the IPC.
- Two committees comprising legal luminaries have been constituted by the Ministry.
- Reasons:
(1) The master-servant concept envisaged in IPC should change.
(2) Never Amended in totality since it was framed, the IPC has had only some additions and deletions.
(3) Uneven punishment for crimes of grievous nature. “For example — snatching of chains or bags on road. It could be life-threatening in some cases but the punishment is not commensurate with the gravity of the crime. Depending on the whims of the police, it is booked under robbery or theft. We have to standardise the punishment
- Other Information:
(1) Home Minister Amit Shah at a function had said that the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) should work on a proposal to amend various sections of the IPC and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) after seeking suggestions from people across the country.
(2) He said that in the British era, the police were raised to protect their interests, but now their duty is to “protect the people,” adding that since Independence more than 34,000 policemen across the country lost their lives in the line of duty.
(3) In 2016, the Home Ministry had proposed insertion of two stricter anti-racial discrimination provisions in the IPC. The two amendments — Section 153A and Section 509A — “to deal with racially motivated crimes” received lukewarm response from the States
Sources
The Hindu