Bills to revamp criminal laws passed in Lok Sabha amid mass suspension of Oppn MPs

News Network

December 20, 2023

New Delhi, Dec 20: Three crucial bills that would replace the colonial-era criminal laws were passed in Lok Sabha today, virtually in the absence of the Opposition.

The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023, will replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, of 1872.

The laws were passed amid the suspension of 143 Opposition members following protests over the recent security breach.

The numbers of suspensions in the Lok Sabha reached 97 today, with the suspension of two more MPs.

The issue has snowballed into the latest flashpoint between the government and the Opposition following the mimicry of Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar by a Trinamool MP.

Insisting that the new laws will replace the colonial era rules that are completely unsuitable for this day and age, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said today that the new bills lay "emphasis on Indianness, the Indian Constitution and the well-being of the people".

"I have gone through every comma, full stop of the new criminal laws," the minister said, insisting that they were in consonance with the spirit of Constitution.

The bills were withdrawn after the monsoon session and three new bills introduced, as a few changes were to be made, Mr Shah said.

The new bills have been examined by the Standing Committee and instead of coming up with official amendments, it was decided to bring the bills again.

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Israel killing Palestinian children in Gaza every day despite ceasefire: UNICEF

News Network

November 22,2025

The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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