DMK Moves Madras HC Against 3 New Criminal Laws

New Criminal Laws

The DMK on Friday has approached the Madras High Court, seeking to declare as ultra vires and unconstitutional the three new criminal laws introduced by the Union government.

These laws—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam—came into effect on July 1, replacing the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act.

A division bench of Justices SS Sundar and N Senthil Kumar heard the petition filed by DMK Organizing Secretary RS Bharathi and issued a notice to the Centre, returnable in four weeks.

The petitioner argued that the government passed the three Bills without meaningful discussion in Parliament. Bharathi claimed that the reorganization of sections was unnecessary and would cause significant inconvenience and confusion in interpreting the provisions. He expressed concerns that the changes would make it difficult for judges, advocates, law enforcement, and the public to correlate the new provisions with the old ones and find precedents.

Bharathi contended that the exercise aimed to “Sanskritise” the titles of the Acts without genuinely revisiting the laws. He argued that the enactments could not be considered an act of Parliament since they were made solely by the ruling party and its allies, excluding opposition parties.

Additionally, Bharathi stated that naming the Acts in Hindi/Sanskrit violated Article 348 of the Constitution, which mandates that the authoritative texts of all Bills introduced in either house of Parliament be in English.