West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to furnish an immediate report on the objectives of a seven-member committee to review thethree new criminal laws that came into force on July 1.
The committee shall suggest state-specific amendments for the three criminal laws and whether the names of the three new laws are required to be changed.
Reacting to the move, the Governor took a dig at Banerjee and said the state cannot be turned into a “banana republic”.
The panel headed by a retired High Court judge will submit its report within three months from the date of notification that was issued on Tuesday.
“West Bengal cannot be a state within a state or turned into a banana republic,” the Governor said.
An official notification read, “The committee shall have the power to engage academic experts, senior advocates, research assistants and other legal experts for seeking their views on the subject matter. It shall also have the power to carry out public consultation.”
The panel headed by Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Roy also includes the state’s Law Minister Malay Ghatak and Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, an official said.
The three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanita 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) — replaced the colonial-era laws of Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC), Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Evidence Act.
The Mamata Banerjee government has reasoned that the Article 246(2) of the Constitution empowers the states to make laws “with respect to any of the matters enlisted” in the concurrent list.
On June 21, Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him todefer the implementation of the new criminal laws. She had also sought further discussion in Parliament on the new laws.
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