DMK leader R.S. Bharathi moves Madras High Court challenging three new criminal laws

DMK's R.S. Bharathi files petitions in Madras High Court against new criminal laws, citing unconstitutionality and arbitrary nature.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) organising secretary R.S. Bharathi has filed three public interest litigation petitions in the Madras High Court to declare as unconstitutional the three new laws which have replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Penal Code and Indian Evidence Act from July 1 this year.

India’s new criminal codes: The Hindu’s detailed coverage

All three petitions have been listed for admission before a Division Bench of Justices S.S. Sundar and N. Senthilkumar on Friday. The cases had been filed against the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 which have replaced the old criminal laws.

In his affidavit, the DMK leader claimed that the three new laws had been passed in undue haste and without due deliberations. He also contended that they were manifestly arbitrary and ultra vires the Constitution. He said, a bare reading of the new laws reveal a concerted design to weaponise the laws by criminalising democratic and peaceful acts of expressing dissent.

He also stated that the three new laws systematically dismantles the most fundamental criminal jurisprudence principles which include right to free and fair trial. He further claimed that the powers of the police had been centralized with impugnity and that the State officials had been provided with immunity under the laws.