Kolkata: The West Bengal government has established a seven-member committee, led by a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court, to review three new criminal laws.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration issued a notification regarding this on Wednesday.

“The state government is pleased to constitute a committee for reviewing the said criminal laws: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS); Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS); and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA),” the notification from the state home department stated.

The three new laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam—came into effect nationwide on July 1, replacing the British-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.

According to the notification, the committee will be chaired by retired justice Ashim Kumar Roy and will include state law minister Malay Ghatak, state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state advocate general, senior standing counsel of West Bengal in the Supreme Court Sanjay Basu, West Bengal police chief, and Kolkata police commissioner.

“The committee shall submit its findings in the form of a report within three months from the date of the notification,” the notification added.

The committee may engage academic experts, senior advocates, research assistants, and other legal experts and can also carry out public consultations.

West Bengal is the third state after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to 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 sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting a deferment of the implementation of the three criminal laws and sought further discussions on them in Parliament.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has detained Manjula, the wife of former Karnataka Minister B Nagendra. She has been brought to the ED’s regional office in Bengaluru.

Earlier, a Bengaluru court granted judicial custody to former Karnataka Minister B Nagendra in connection with the alleged Valmiki Corporation Scam until July 18.

The ED arrested Nagendra in relation to the alleged multi-crore scam case. Following the arrest, he was presented before the court in Bengaluru.

The ED detained the former Karnataka Minister after conducting raids at various locations linked to him and MLA Basanagouda Daddal concerning the alleged embezzlement of funds in the Valmiki Development Corporation.

The state government has faced growing protests from the BJP, which has alleged a major scam within the corporation. However, the state government denied any wrongdoing earlier this week.

“There is no scam. All scams were created by the BJP during their tenure. BJP is the father of scams. Now we are trying to clean up everything, and they cannot digest it as their names will come out,” said Deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Monday.

The alleged corruption case involving the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation came to light after an official of the corporation died by suicide, leaving a note alleging multi-crore corruption within the corporation.

The official, identified as Chandrasekaran (45), a resident of the Kenchappa colony in Vinobanagar, allegedly died by suicide on May 26, leaving a note alleging multi-crore corruption within the corporation. Chandrasekaran was a superintendent with the MVDC and was posted at its Bengaluru office.

In a six-page suicide note recovered by police, Chandrasekaran named three officials and alleged corruption worth crores within the corporation, demanding action against the named officials. On June 6, Nagendra announced that he had voluntarily decided to resign while an investigation was ongoing regarding the allegations of illegal money transfers from Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd. The former Karnataka Minister dismissed all allegations against him and expressed confidence that he would be cleared after the investigation.

On Monday, IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar expressed confidence that the truth will prevail as she prepares to present her case to the central committee investigating allegations of misusing disability provisions and Other Backward Class (OBC) quotas to secure her civil service position.

Speaking to reporters, Puja Khedkar condemned what she viewed as a biased media trial, firmly denying any fraudulent actions in her exam process. “Our Indian Constitution is based on the principle ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ so being judged guilty by a media trial is wrong,” Khedkar stated in Washim.

The IAS probationer is accused of misrepresentation under physical disabilities and OBC categories in her civil services application.

“I will testify before the committee. I believe that whatever decision the committee makes should be acceptable to all,” Khedkar said in Washim.

Puja Khedkar recently sparked controversy when she reportedly requested a separate cabin and staff during her posting in Pune, followed by a sudden transfer to Washim district. Subsequently, she faced further allegations of securing her IAS position by applying under the OBC category with an annual income of less than ₹8 lakh, and under the visually impaired category, while submitting a certificate for mental illness.

Her father, Dilip Khedkar, a former Maharashtra government employee who contested the Lok Sabha elections and declared property worth ₹40 crore in his poll affidavit, told a Marathi news channel on Sunday that she indeed belongs to the non-creamy layer.

However, no mental illness certificate was submitted by Puja Khedkar during her MBBS tenure at a Pune college, confirmed the hospital’s director on Monday.

Puja Khedkar declined to comment on the controversy. “My role here as a probationer is to work and learn, and that is what I am focusing on. I cannot comment on that matter,” she said.

“The government committee experts will decide. Neither I, nor the media, nor the public can make that decision,” Khedkar said.

“Whenever the committee’s decision is made, it will be public and open to scrutiny. But at this moment, I do not have the right to disclose details about the ongoing investigation,” she added.

When asked if she is being targeted, Khedkar responded, “Everybody knows what is going on.” She reiterated that the Indian Constitution is based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

On Monday, IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar expressed confidence that the truth will prevail as she prepares to present her case to the central committee investigating allegations of misusing disability provisions and Other Backward Class (OBC) quotas to secure her civil service position.

Speaking to reporters, Puja Khedkar condemned what she viewed as a biased media trial, firmly denying any fraudulent actions in her exam process. “Our Indian Constitution is based on the principle ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ so being judged guilty by a media trial is wrong,” Khedkar stated in Washim.

The IAS probationer is accused of misrepresentation under physical disabilities and OBC categories in her civil services application.

“I will testify before the committee. I believe that whatever decision the committee makes should be acceptable to all,” Khedkar said in Washim.

Puja Khedkar recently sparked controversy when she reportedly requested a separate cabin and staff during her posting in Pune, followed by a sudden transfer to Washim district. Subsequently, she faced further allegations of securing her IAS position by applying under the OBC category with an annual income of less than ₹8 lakh, and under the visually impaired category, while submitting a certificate for mental illness.

Her father, Dilip Khedkar, a former Maharashtra government employee who contested the Lok Sabha elections and declared property worth ₹40 crore in his poll affidavit, told a Marathi news channel on Sunday that she indeed belongs to the non-creamy layer.

However, no mental illness certificate was submitted by Puja Khedkar during her MBBS tenure at a Pune college, confirmed the hospital’s director on Monday.

Puja Khedkar declined to comment on the controversy. “My role here as a probationer is to work and learn, and that is what I am focusing on. I cannot comment on that matter,” she said.

“The government committee experts will decide. Neither I, nor the media, nor the public can make that decision,” Khedkar said.

“Whenever the committee’s decision is made, it will be public and open to scrutiny. But at this moment, I do not have the right to disclose details about the ongoing investigation,” she added.

When asked if she is being targeted, Khedkar responded, “Everybody knows what is going on.” She reiterated that the Indian Constitution is based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged people to avoid using derogatory language and being nasty towards former Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani and other leaders.

Posting on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), the former Congress president wrote: “Winning and losing are part of life. I urge everyone to refrain from using derogatory language and being nasty towards Smt. Smriti Irani or any other leader.”

“Humiliating and insulting people is a sign of weakness, not strength,” he added.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister Irani lost the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh to veteran Congress worker and Gandhi family confidant Kishori Lal Sharma by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes. In 2019, Irani had defeated Rahul Gandhi in his stronghold, Amethi, by a margin of over 55,000 votes.

After her defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, Irani expressed her gratitude to her supporters.

“I express my gratitude to all the BJP party workers and supporters, those who have worked in the service of the constituency and the party with utmost dedication and fidelity… I congratulate those who win. I will continue to be in the service of the people of Amethi.”

“Such is life… A decade of my life going from one village to another, building lives, nurturing hope & aspirations, working on infrastructure – roads, drains, paving, bypass, medical college, and more. To those who stood by me through loss and victory, I am forever grateful. To those celebrating today, congratulations. And to those asking, ‘How’s the josh?’ I say – it’s still high, Sir.”

In the 2024 general elections, Rahul Gandhi contested and won in the Rae Bareli and Wayanad constituencies, but later resigned from the Kerala constituency. The Congress has announced that party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad.