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.
