From July 1860, the British Law Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Proceedings Code of 1889 and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 became history in the country. Even after the independence of the country, these laws of the British were in force. The original aim of British law was to punish the country's people by persecuting them. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarika Surakshya Sanhita and Bharitiya Sakhya Adhiniyam have been enacted to replace this law which has been in force for hundreds of years, to provide protection to all the rights provided by the Constitution to the citizens of India and to provide justice instead of punishment.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has 358 sections, the Bharatiya Nagarika Surakshya Sanhita has 531 Sections and Bharitiya Sakhya Adhiniyam has 170 sections. Even without radical changes in the law, in today's era, prompt action against new types of crimes, crime-solving through science and technology, protection of citizens' rights, attempts to stop abuse of police power, zero FIR system, prosecution anywhere and execution justice.

Along with this, there is a strict penal system for social reform. To establish justice in society, the reform process in the field of punishment has been newly integrated into this law. Judges can also consider community service as punishment and order accordingly. The Act also defines the third gender and removes Telegram from the Indian Evidence Act. New generation, new age new law, understanding the perspective of the victim, giving a law for the help of the general public, and solving the justice system promptly are the main goals of this innovation.

In the current law, violence against women and children has been made a special section and placed in Part 5. According to section-63 of this law, marrying a girl who is less than 18 years old instead of 15 years old will be considered a rape. Similarly, according to Section -65(1), the punishment for rape on a woman under the age of 16 years is rigorous imprisonment for at least twenty years and under Section -65(2), in the case of a child under the age of 12 years, there is a provision of rigorous imprisonment from twenty years to hanging.

According to Section -70(2), punishment for gang rape of a woman under the age of 18 years is punishable by life imprisonment or death sentence. A new offence has been added here in Section 95, which provides imprisonment for three years to ten years for engaging children to commit any offence. Under Section 96 of the Act, the term "child" will be used instead of a minor girl, in which anyone who forces a child to have sexual relations with another person can be punished with imprisonment for up to ten years. The crime of procuring a child for prostitution is punishable by imprisonment for seven to fourteen years with a fine under Section 99.

Section 137(1)(b) provides that the taking away of any child or a sick or mentally unsound person without the consent of their parents or guardians by enticement shall be deemed to be kidnapping and shall be punished accordingly. Section 139(1) provides for imprisonment of more than ten years for the offence of employing children as beggars. Section 141 provides imprisonment for up to ten years and a fine for the offence of importing a male below 18 years of age or a female below 21 years of age from abroad into India and forcing them to have sexual relations with others.

According to Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Surakhya Sanhita, no woman, mentally or physically disabled and seriously ill persons and no man below 15 years or above 60 years of age can be summoned to the police station for recording a statement. The statement can be recorded at the place or the police station according to the preference of the above person. Apart from this, it is considered a crime for a woman to misbehave with another woman or to use her for sexual purposes, and there is a provision to treat not only men but also women as criminals.

India's laws have made provision for a child-friendly investigation system, with special attention to keeping children safe during the investigation, and confidentiality of the identity of child victims and witnesses. Along with this new law, the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012 and the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006 will also be in force in our country.

Only a woman police officer can investigate a woman victim of sexual exploitation. Similarly, according to the new law, the statement recording of the above woman victim will be done by a woman magistrate, if there is no woman magistrate, then another magistrate can do it in the presence of a woman. According to sections 76 and 77, gender neutrality is emphasized, assault against women, undressing, taking photos without permission and stalking with malicious intent will be considered crimes and therefore both men and women will be punished.

With so many legal frameworks in the country, the reformation of three laws can surely be enough to protect the children if we are aware of it. As the saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure". So, if we can prevent crime and protect every child in the country as our child, there will be no need for any law reforms. Otherwise, it should be thought that it is worthwhile to make life difficult by adopting the proverb "If one violates the child law, he should go to jail and chant".

Written By: Dr.Samir Kumar Nanda, {PhD, MBA, LLB, M.A (Labour Laws)}
Member, Juvenile Justice Board,