Rajya Sabha’s panel on home affairs, which is reviewing the three proposed legislations to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, respectively, is likely to recommend re-criminalisation of adultery law and non-consensual sex between men, women or transgenders.  

The panel met on Oct 27  but could not adopt a draft report owing to opposition members seeking an extension of three months to scrutinise the three Bills, as per reports. 

In a bid to overhaul colonial-era criminal laws, the three Bills were tabled in the Lok Sabha by home minister Amit Shah on the last day of the monsoon session in Aug 2023 and were referred to the parliamentary panel on home affairs led by BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal for review. 

The panel has three months time to scrutinise the Bills, a deadline which ends next month. The panel, which has met 13 times since August, is scheduled to meet again on November 6. 

Re-criminalisation of Section 377?

Meanwhile, the committee reportedly also discussed Section 377 - a British-era provision that criminalised homosexuality, and which was also struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018.

The committee is expected to recommend to the government, which opposed decriminalisation of both 377 and 497, that “it is mandatory to re-introduce and retain Section 377 of the IPC”. 

(With inputs from IANS)

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