Four amended bills are set to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament, on Thursday, December 21: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, and the Telecommunications Bill, 2023. The four bills seek to repeal and replace colonial era laws. 

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While the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSS) is set to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill (BSS) will take the place of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita Bill (BNSSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and the Telecom Bill 2023 is set to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.

Out of the four bills, the three amended criminal bills—the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) (BSB) 2023—were cleared on Wednesday after Home Minister Amit Shah spoke in the lower house. A majority of MPs present in the Lok Sabha voted in favour of the three bills by voice vote.

What do the four bills cleared in the Lok Sabha mean?

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, is aimed at consolidating and amending the provisions relating to offences and related matters.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to criminal procedure.

Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023

The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023, seeks to consolidate and to provide for general rules and principles of evidence for fair trial.

Telecommunications Bill, 2023

The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, seeks to amend and consolidate the law relating to the development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and telecommunication networks, the assignment of spectrum, and related matters. It also seeks to amend certain provisions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act (TRAI), 1997. 

The bill was introduced by Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on December 13.

Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that user protection is a key reform in the Telecommunications Bill, 2023. The amendment would help in checking fraudulent issuance of SIM cards, he added. 

Other bills passed in Parliament

The Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, which seeks to give statutory backing to the government to collect taxes from midnight as per the announcement made in the Union Budget, was passed in the Parliament on Wednesday. 

The bill comes with provisions to refund taxes collected that have not been incorporated in the Finance Bill as per the budget for fiscal year starting April 1. It repeals The Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931.

Explaining the importance of the bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after announcing various provisions around taxes in the budget, which is scheduled to be presented in the Parliament on February 1, the government has to wait till April 1 for them to become effective, which leads to a gap between the two dates and can result in various kind of speculations, exploitations, etc.

(With inputs from agencies)