The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued directives to universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the nation to actively publicize and clarify the details of the new criminal laws recently enacted. The UGC emphasized dispelling misconceptions or “myths” surrounding these laws, including concerns about their potential threat to individual freedom, the establishment of a “police state,” and provisions related to sedition and police torture.

To facilitate awareness, the UGC has provided universities with informational flyers that outline the myths and realities associated with the new criminal laws. In its communication, the UGC stressed the importance of disseminating accurate information and fostering understanding among students and the academic community.

UGC Secretary Manish Joshi urged Higher Educational Institutions to promote the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, by organizing various awareness campaigns. This could involve displaying information through standees, distributing informational flyers, and hosting seminars and talks with legal experts, including lawyers and retired judges.

Furthermore, HEIs have been encouraged to share details of the awareness activities undertaken with the Ministry of Education. This information will then be forwarded to the Home Ministry.

The new criminal laws, including the Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023, and The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, were passed during the Winter Session of Parliament. These laws are set to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), respectively.

In the UGC flyers, specific myths are addressed, including concerns about the laws being a repackaging of existing draconian provisions, the extension of custody from 15 to 90 days enabling police torture, the replacement of sedition with ‘Deshdroh,’ and the introduction of harsh punishments in hit-and-run cases under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.

The new criminal laws bring significant changes, introducing definitions for children and including transgender in the definition of ‘gender.’ They also widen the definition of ‘document’ to include electronic and digital records, and expand the definition of ‘movable’ to encompass property of every description. The laws incorporate new chapters on offences against women and children, ‘inchoate offences,’ and address issues such as organized crime, terrorist acts, hit-and-run cases, mob lynching, hiring a child to commit an offence, sexual exploitation of women by deceitful means, snatching, abetment outside India, and acts endangering the sovereignty, integrity, and unity of India.

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