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Parliament proceedings | Lok Sabha passes Bills to replace British-era criminal laws

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The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three amended Bills that seek to repeal and replace criminal laws which date back to colonial times. This criminal law reform brings terrorism offences into a general crime law for the first time, drops the crime of sedition, and makes mob lynching punishable by death.

The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSS) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill (BSS) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. All three were discussed and passed with a voice-vote, in the absence of the majority of Opposition members from INDIA bloc parties, as 97 of them have been suspended during this session.

Home Minister Amit Shah said that the three Bills stressed justice rather than punishment, and have been designed to last for the next century, keeping technological advancements in mind. “This is a pure Indian law after removing all the British imprints. As long as we are in power, we cannot become a police State,” the Minister said.He moved an amendment to the BNSS, which will exclude doctors from criminal prosecution for death due to medical negligence, and will make hit-and-run accident cases punishable by ten years imprisonment.

‘No sympathy for terrorists’

Noting that more than one lakh people have been killed in terror attacks across the country over the past 75 years, Mr. Shah said that the BNSS had, for the first time, defined terrorism and included it as a separate category in the general crime law.

Also read | The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita needs a relook

“Some members pointed out that UAPA [the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act] already exists. But in places where they were in power, they never invoked UAPA and those who committed acts of terrorism escaped under the provisions of general law,” Mr. Shah said. “We have shut the doors for such people to escape punishment by including terrorism in the criminal law. Terrorism is the biggest enemy of human rights. Such people should get the harshest of punishment. This is not Congress or British rule, how can you defend terrorists?” he asked.

Mr. Shah insisted that there was no scope for misuse of the terror provisions in the BNSS, but claimed that there was undue fear which made some Opposition MPs oppose the laws. “I insist that this fear should persist. There should be no sympathy for people who commit terrorist acts,” he said.

Earlier in the debate, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while speaking about Punjabi youth who took to militancy swayed by emotions, claimed that the two men who had jumped inside the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13 had also been affected by their emotions on the issues of unemployment, Manipur violence, and farmers’ rights. The two men, along with four associates, have been booked under UAPA, among other charges. The SAD leader also flagged the absence of a majority of the Opposition members, saying that key Bills should not be passed in such a manner.

Rajdroha vs deshdroha

The Home Minister said that sedition has been repealed in the new law. “We have replaced an individual with the country. Rajdroha (sedition or offence against the government) has been replaced with deshdroha (offence against the nation or country). Gandhi, Tilak, Patel all went to jail under this particular British law, yet it was never scrapped by the Opposition when they were in power. It continued all these years,” he said.

“[AIMIM MP Asaduddin] Owaisi ji is thinking that we have merely changed the name of sedition. I want to say that this is an independent country. Nobody will be sent to jail for criticising the government, but you cannot say anything against the country or do anything against the interests of the country. If you harm the flag or the property of the country, you will be sent to jail,” Mr. Shah said.

Also read |Revised criminal law bills: Key changes explained

‘Muslims, Dalits will be hurt’

Earlier, Mr. Owaisi said that the new laws would impact minority and underprivileged communities the most, adding that they did not have any safeguards against police excess and fabricated evidence. “Most undertrial prisoners are Adivasi, Dalits and Muslims. The conviction rate of Muslim inmates is 16% and their population is 14%. As many as 30% detenues in jails are Muslims. 76% backward class, Dalits and religious minorities are on death-row. You are reforming [the law] for the powerful; this will not benefit the poor,” Mr. Owaisi said.

He pointed out that Clause 187 of the BNSSS permits police custody of up to 90 days, as against the 15-day custody allowed till now. The law also prevents any third party from filing mercy petitions on behalf of convicts on death-row.

Mr. Owaisi added that it was an irony that people accused of terror charges themselves were also speaking in Parliament on the Bill. The BJP MP from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, faces charges under UAPA, with regard to her alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast where six people were killed. She spoke during the debate on the Bill, claiming that the British-era laws had been misused to torture her in police custody for 13 days.

‘Definition of terror is too broad’

Krishna Devarayalu Lavu of the YSR Congress also objected to the clause permitting 90 days of police custody. He noted that recently, three contentious farm laws had been withdrawn after farmers staged a peaceful protest. “They protested so their rights can be taken care of. If you invoke sections pertaining to attack on sovereignty of the country, it does not make any sense. The definition of terrorist acts is too broad,” the YSR Congress MP said.

Mr. Shah, however, insisted that the total police custody would only be 15 days. “If, after the first seven days of police questioning, someone gets admitted in hospital, the person will have to appear before the police for another eight days after recovering or getting discharged. Meanwhile, courts can also grant bail,” he said.

Crime

Rajasthan: Cyber gang responsible for breaching govt portals busted; 6 arrested

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Jaipur, Oct 27: In a major breakthrough, the Jhalawar Police in Rajasthan have busted an interstate cybercrime network that infiltrated several central and state government welfare portals, including the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Jan Aadhaar, Raj SSP (Social Security Pension), and the Disaster Management Department’s DMIS portal.

Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said that the crackdown codenamed “Operation Shutdown” has led to the arrest of six accused and detention of two others across Delhi, Punjab, and multiple districts of Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Jodhpur. Police have so far frozen Rs 1 crore across 11,000 suspicious bank accounts linked to the gang.

SP Kumar said the gang was involved in large-scale financial fraud worth crores by exploiting loopholes in government welfare schemes.

“This was an organised and well-connected interstate gang operating at both the state and national levels,” he said.

SP Kumar said that during the operation, which began on October 22, police recovered Rs 53 lakh in cash, note-counting machines, thousands of chequebooks, passbooks, and ATM cards, along with 35 laptops, 70 mobile phones, and data related to over 11,000 bank accounts.

“Luxury vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, and tractors, used by the accused were also seized,” SP Kumar said.

He said that among those arrested are Mohammad Laiq (Jaipur), identified as the State Nodal Operator of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, accused of creating unauthorised IDs using his official credentials and performing illegal land seeding for ineligible beneficiaries.

“Subhash (Delhi) provided land seeding data for fake beneficiaries in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Mohammad Shahid Khan (Bharatpur) is a former Land Development Bank employee who aided in fraudulent activations. Rohit Kumar and Sandeep Sharma (Jalandhar, Punjab) designed and managed clone websites resembling government portals. Sunant Sharma has been identified as the main handler of the gang,” he said.

SP Kumar said that two others, including Ramesh Chand (Phalodi Collectorate employee) and Bhag Chand (Dausa), were detained for facilitating bulk registrations and enrolling the highest number of ineligible beneficiaries in Jhalawar district.

“The gang exploited dormant or inactive registrations of ineligible beneficiaries. Data collected from rural agents was routed to operators like Laiq, who used official credentials to generate unauthorised nodal IDs at night. These IDs were used to bypass OTPs and reactivate accounts for ineligible beneficiaries, siphoning government funds overnight before deleting or disabling the login IDs by morning,” he said.

SP Kumar said that in the DMIS portal, criminals abused vulnerabilities in the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS).

“They accessed 1,500 SSO IDs and official emails — from collectorates to patwaris — to divert compensation funds meant for farmers into fake accounts. Forensic analysis of seized devices revealed sophisticated cyber tools used to bypass Aadhaar verification and gain access to e-Mitra Plus systems,” he said.

SP Kumar added that police have also recovered thousands of Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) and account details from social security schemes.

“Suspicious fund transfers were detected for over 17,000 beneficiaries in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Sikar, indicating widespread data theft and manipulation. To dismantle the network, a six-member Special Task Force (STF) was constituted under Jhalawar Police, with support from cyber forensics units and intelligence agencies across multiple states,” he said.

He further pointed out that authorities say the investigation is ongoing, with more arrests likely as data analysis and inter-state coordination continue.

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National News

‘BJP Office Is No Less Than A Temple’: Union Home Minister Amit Shah At The Foundation Ceremony In Mumbai

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Mumbai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to Mumbai today. During his visit, the foundation stone of the new office of Maharashtra BJP in Mumbai was laid by the Union Home Minister. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior BJP leaders were present for this event.

Speaking at the foundation stone ceremony of the BJP office, Amit Shah commented on various issues in Maharashtra. Amit Shah also said that today is an auspicious day for the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the BJP office is no less than a temple for our workers.

“Today is an auspicious day for all the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Because today the foundation stone of the Maharashtra BJP office has been laid. From today, the Maharashtra BJP is making a new beginning. From the time the BJP was founded until today, 2025, everyone from every BJP worker to all the leaders knows that the office is a temple for us. For all the other parties, the office will be an office. But for every BJP worker, the BJP office is no less than a temple,” said Amit Shah in a speech.

“Since the formation of the Jan Sangh till today, we have always accepted the idea of ​​running a political party. We have always based our policy on principles. We have always fought for the welfare of the people of India. Now no one can deny that the Bharatiya Janata Party is a strong signature in the political arena of Maharashtra as well. Therefore, today on the occasion of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the party’s state office, I wish the workers all the best,” said Amit Shah.

“The Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party office has a library, six meeting rooms, a conference hall, a grand auditorium with 400 seats, an office for the party’s state president and an office for the Chief Minister. Not only this, arrangements have also been made in the office for some workers to stay,” said Amit Shah in his speech.

He also stated that, “BJP offices are a symbol of service and public welfare. Maharashtra is doing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new BJP office in Mumbai. I am doing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai.”

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Is Maharashtra In The 12 States Where EC Has Announced Voter List Revision? Find Out Here

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the launch of the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made the announcement during a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.

While several states are set to begin the voter list update, Maharashtra has not been included in this phase. The revision exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The ECI’s Special Intensive Revision is aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter lists, particularly before upcoming elections in key states. Officials said the process will include verifying new voter registrations, removing duplicate entries, and updating address or constituency changes to maintain transparency in the electoral process.

The announcement comes as several states prepare for major Assembly elections, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry. The move is seen as part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure readiness ahead of the polls. “Today we are here regarding the rollout of the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision. I extend my greetings to the voters of Bihar and bow before the 7.5 crore voters who took part in a successful SIR,” said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

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