Before this, a bench presided by CJI Chandrachud dismissed a PIL by a Chennai resident challenging the three new criminal laws questioning his locus standi. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging three new laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill — enacted by Parliament. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal told the petitioner, Advocate Vishal Tiwari, that the laws were yet to come into operation and also took exception to the “casual manner” in which the petition had been drafted. “The law has not come into force,” pointed out Justice Trivedi. Tiwari said he would withdraw the plea and urged the court to grant him liberty to approach the government and make a representation but the court refused. The bench told him that it would have imposed costs if he had argued the matter any further. In February this year, a bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud dismissed a PIL by a Chennai resident challenging the three new laws questioning his locus standi.

The three laws, which will come into effect on July 1, were enacted to overhaul the country’s criminal justice system and will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. During an event in April, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said the enactment of the new laws signified a watershed moment for our society” and “have transitioned India’s legal framework on criminal justice into the new age”.

CJI Chandrachud pointed out that “much-needed improvements have been introduced” in the new laws “to protect victim’s interests and carry out the investigation and prosecution of offences efficiently”.