Replacing IPC with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita not a ‘welcome change’: Amartya Sen

The law was changed without talking to all the stakeholders, the Nobel laureate said.

Replacing the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is not a ‘welcome change’ as the law was changed without talking to all the stakeholders, according to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. (HT file)

“Any move to usher in such a change with the help of the majority sans any discussion with all sides concerned, cannot be labelled as a welcome change, good change, and this augurs well by me,” Sen told reporters in West Bengal's Santiniketan.

The veteran economist and philosopher also stated that in a large and diverse nation like India, issues faced by two different states may not necessarily be the same.

“There has not been any evidence that wide-ranging talks had preceded before enacting this (BNS) with all the stakeholders. Also, in this vast country, the problems faced by a state like Manipur and another state, says Madhya Pradesh, cannot be the same,” he said.

The three new criminal laws – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BNA) – came into effect on July 1. These were passed by the Parliament in December last year, amid suspension of a record number of members from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha; the Members of Parliament (MPs) were suspended as they sought a statement by Union home minister Amit Shah over the Lok Sabha security breach that took place earlier that month.

The legislations have replaced the colonial Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act.

(With PTI inputs)