Bengal govt sets up 7-member panel to study new criminal laws

West Bengal government has set up a seven-member committee headed by a retired judge of the Calcutta high court to review the three new criminal laws. The state administration issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday.

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

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

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