CS reviews progress on new criminal laws’ implementation

Srinagar, May 30: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Thursday chaired a high-level meeting of senior functionaries in the Home, Police, and Law departments to assess preparations being made for the implementation of three new criminal laws in J&K recently passed by the Parliament.

The chief secretary enquired about the capacity building and training of concerned staff, conducted so far. He emphasised the need for collaborative efforts of all stakeholders for the effective implementation of these laws in J&K.

Dulloo asked about the status of dissemination of relevant informative material regarding the new laws among the police officers and different sections of society including women and students for their awareness.

He also asked about different logistic measures and technological upgrades to be made for better implementation of these laws on the ground.

The chief secretary took stock of the necessary amendments to be incorporated into the Police Manual. He asked about the status of issuing different Statutory Orders (SOs) in this regard.

Dulloo enquired about the changes to be made in the rationalisation or creation of posts, seeking clarifications from the Law Department and integration of different portals with the rechristened apparatus of law enforcement agencies.

In its presentation, the Police Department threw light on different initiatives being taken for the smooth implementation of these laws.

It was revealed that capacity building and training of staff, deployment of additional manpower and upgradation of hardware and technological interventions are being planned as part of an implementation strategy for these new laws.

It was informed that to date nearly 6984 police personnel have been trained in the training institutions in addition to the orientation of 106 prosecutors.

Besides, it was apprised that 72 officers are going to attend the batch-wise training program at CAPT, Bhopal along with 30 officers from the Judicial Academy.

The meeting further deliberated on the plan for the establishment of district mobile forensic units as per provisions of the act.

It also had discourse over the changes to be made in Prisons, Prosecution, and other allied departments. It was revealed that the committees and study groups have been constituted to have insights into these laws and frame a roadmap to implement these in J&K.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam had been recently notified by the MHA for implementation from July 2024.

These would replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.