In his address, Shivam Siddharth stated that the new criminal laws will be a watershed moment in the history of India’s criminal justice delivery. “It will be a new dawn when these laws, based on Indian thinking, and which are enshrined in the principles of justice, impartiality, equality, will be implemented on the 1st July”, said Shri Siddharth. He also said the new laws demonstrate the government’s commitment to deliver justice, and not just punishment.
The SP underlined that the first and foremost approach adopted in these laws is that they are citizen-centric, and it has been ensured that there is, now, less inconvenience caused to the citizens and complainants while availing justice. “For example, the system of zero FIRs and e-FIRs has been institutionalized in the Acts itself”, he explained.
Speaking on the occasion, Guest of Honour, Advocate Ranjit Singh Jamwal said that the new laws have been introduced to deal sternly with crimes against women, and increasing number of cyber-crimes. “Offences, such as mob lynching and gang-rape”, have now been covered more thoroughly in the new legislations”, informed Shri Jamwal. He added that the new laws have been brought, keeping in view the citizens’ aspirations.
Earlier in his welcome address, Director, PIB/CBC, Jammu, Shri Ghulam Abbas briefed the gathering about the rationale behind the introduction of the three legislations. He appealed to the media to complement the efforts of the government in raising awareness about the new laws among general public and also popularize the eSakshya (e-evidence) app which is a mobile based application to help police record, scene of crime, search and seizure in a criminal case.
On the occasion, Media and Communication Officer, PIB, Jammu, Shri Zakir Nazeer made a detailed Power Point Presentation to give an overview of the new legislations. He also urged the media to inform citizens about the new laws.
The event also featured an engaging Question and Answer (Q/A) session, where attendees had the opportunity to interact with the speakers, clarifying their doubts and gaining further insights into the new legislations. Around 40 media-persons and nearly 10 interns from Jammu University attended the Vartalap. Field Publicity Officer, CBC, Kathua Camp Jammu, Shri Rajesh Sharma delivered the formal Vote of Thanks. The programme was moderated by Ms Alina Shapoo, an intern with PIB, Jammu.