1st-fir-under-new-laws-filed-against-delhi-vendor

Today, with the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the first FIR was lodged against a street vendor for blocking a road close to the New Delhi Railway Station.

The FIR was filed under Section 285 of the new criminal code that states, "Whoever, by doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causes danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.”

The police filed an FIR after a patrolling officer noticed a street vendor selling water bottles and gutkha on the road last night. The vendor's makeshift stall was blocking the road, and despite repeated requests to move it, he did not comply. As a result, the police officer decided to file an FIR.

According to the FIR, the street vendor had placed his stall near a foot-over bridge close to New Delhi Railway Station late last night.

"The man was selling water, bidi and cigarettes on the street and the obstruction was causing difficulty for the public. The sub-inspector asked the man several times to remove the stall from the road, but he did not comply. The sub-inspector asked several passers-by to join the probe, but they refused. Then the sub-inspector shot a video using the E-praman application," the FIR says.

The individual has been identified as Pankaj Kumar, hailing from Patna in Bihar.

Today, three new criminal laws have been implemented—the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. These will supersede the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which date back to the colonial era.