THE EVOLUTION OF CRIMINAL LAW: FROM ANCIENT CODES TO MODERN STATUTES

Ronit Raj

Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Law College

INTRODUCTION:

Criminology is defined as the serious and systematic study of crime and criminals or the logarithmic structure that is the treatment of man in the penal system. It traces its roots in the Indian context back to ancient texts like Chanakya's Arthashastra. He referenced various solutions for preventing, detecting, and punishing the crimes. However, during British colonialism, the Indian criminal administration began to become a distinct academic science of the academy. The introduction of British legal principles and administrative principles cemented the foundation of the modern Indian criminal justice system: the Indian Penal Code 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1861. The Frontier Crimes Regulation, 1924, and the Indian Police Act, 1861, went ahead to serve as the Coroner Basic Statute of Police Power, which enhanced the law enforcement process (lawfulness and system) in the British Colonial India period. Criminology would allow for all these above factors and would give the decision-makers inside the Law enforcement and the legal system a deeper understanding of the crime patterns in a given area, the potential consequences or risks of crime, the potential prevention measures/ interventions that may be ineffective or effective as well; and lastly, criminology brings together a breadth of diverse disciplines in search of an understanding for crime prevention; engagement and oversight come from an array of diversity in disciplines such as public health, sociology, economics and psychology which in turn borrows richly from each yielding absorption in the complex nature of crime and the behaviour attached to the crime.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OF ANCIENT INDIA:

Examining the Systems of Justice in Ancient India: The spiritual orientation of the era must be contemplated to fully comprehend the justice systems of the ancient Indian era. In ancient India, the first age was Satyayuga, a utopian society in which no one fought over possessions, no one stole; there was no need for a king or leader; the king was the rightness of laws, and society was governed by Dharma.

The Rig Veda, known to be the oldest text in the world, has given the idea of Rita, which later on became an important part of Indian culture and civilization. The three most relevant texts are the Dharmashastras, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, and the Sharada: While the Dharmashastras define crimes and punishments as actions that cause harm to others, the offences against the sovereign, especially treason, were considered the most serious crimes. The penalties ranged from a mere fine for infraction of orders to the death penalty for mutiny. According to Hindu Vedas, crime arises from failure to observe socio-religious laws.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE MEDIEVAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE:

However, the arrival of Mohammad bin Qasim in 712 CE brought an end to Hindu sovereignty in India. Islamic reign began with Qutub-ud-din Aibak, and the rulers ruled until 1857, when the British forces discrowned the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and expelled him to Rangoon.

They were a synthesis of the Arabic, Persian, and Egyptian traditions, modified to accommodate the local custom. These were taken from the Quran and Hadith. In such circumstances, as the Quran was not as such on the issue, Sunnah and Hadis were deemed the sources of authority. Over the decades and across the Muslim world, doctrinal interpretations of these Quranic provisions yielded four key schools of Islamic jurisprudence: Hanafi, Shafii, and Hanbali.

Legal powers are based on Shar (the divine law) and Urfi (the customary law). The shar system had three elements, namely Hadis, Ijma (agreement of scholars), and Qiyas (analogical reasoning).

COLONIAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM:

The British government developed a new system of justice based on principles of English common law, and this slowly supplanted traditional local practices. The 1860 and 1861 comprehensive criminal codes embodied two overarching priorities: consolidating British dominion and upholding social control in colonial domains.

The colonial officers did not generally regard the local population with much respect and maintained strict and severe laws to contain any oppositional threat. The British introduced the Indian Penal Code in India in 1860. What constitutes a crime, what sort of punishment to prescribe, and keeping order in society—the Indian Penal Code does it all. They drafted the Code of Criminal Procedure in 1861. This is the code that dictates how we solve crimes, how we apprehend criminals, how we gather evidence, how guilt or innocence is assessed and how punishment is meted out to the guilty.

It marks a transformation of revolution in criminal studies and the administration of justice in the post-independence era. And in 1950, the Constitution set the blueprint for a democratic legal system. The system is premised on certain fundamentals of equity, equality and rights. The traditional justice concepts could be conceptually and theoretically rooted in the modern legal paradigms and the contemporary international human rights standards.

POST-INDEPENDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM:

After independence in 1950, it prepared the Constitution of India for the new authority. The rights of the citizens of India and the duties of the citizens of India are given in the Constitution. It also highlights the power structure in the government in the country as well as explains the relationship of the three branches of government: legislature, executive & judiciary.

However, this is hung in the law that came into force in 1973, the Code of Criminal Procedure. It would, among other things, prescribe the processes whereby any criminal case will be investigated or tried. It grants certain rights to people accused of crimes, such as a fair trial, a lawyer and the right not to testify against themselves. Later revisions built in electronic evidence and enabled plea deals to reduce the number of pending cases that would have gone to trial.

CURRENT JUDICIAL REFORMS:

1.      Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023:

Compared to the 2042 Act, however, BNS, 2023 is very much a legislation because it repeals the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The law proposes to amend, repeal, and insert sections for strengthening the whole legal framework to counter issues posed to the sovereignty, integrity, and unity of the country. Current issues such as terrorism and organized crime have been addressed, whereby the severe offences are distinguished from the lesser ones so that the severe ones are punished harshly.

2.      Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023:

This is expected to replace the present Code of Criminal Procedure, CrPC. One of the innovations of BNSS is the Zero FIR provision, which states that an FIR can be filed by any citizen before any police station in the state irrespective of the place of the occurrence of the offence. This FIR must be sent electronically to the first police station within 15 working days, thereby making access quicker and curing the demand that is raised by RAW service. Moreover, it also gives the accused and victims copies of the FIR police reports, charge sheets, statements of witnesses, and other papers within 14 days of filing.

3.      Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam:

The BSA is a legislation that takes precedence over the Indian Evidence Act, of 1872. This is a new law on evidence. IT professionals and their businesses are so critical to practically serving any profession that no work in the business world is ever complete without the input of IT professionals. Thus, this new law also brings forth electronic information. Electronic evidence includes all forms of information generated, transmitted, or stored by an electronic device and has the potential for retention and retrieval.

CASE LAWS:

1.      Nirbhaya Case (2012):

One such statute is the case of Nirbhaya dealing with a gang rape that occurred in Delhi in 2012, which brought into effect the amendment in sexual offences in the Indian criminal laws. The Nirbhaya Act, redefined the rape act, increased punishment, and according to a new law introduced added new crimes like stalking, as it was the victim's interest above the accused. It progressed into the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 aimed at furthering the fight against rape.

2.      Satyam Scam (2009):

Satyam scam turned out to be another much-exposed scandal that threw a shadow on poor corporate governance in India. On a positive note, it heralded a buoyant future in the direction of the Companies Act 2013 and the extension of regulatory bodies, strengthening corporate social responsibility and corporate wellness programs, and raising penalties for any misconduct done by a corporation as well as causing any corporate insolvency. Transparency mechanism is getting further developed so it is increasingly going to become difficult to enact frauds in the future.

3.      2G Spectrum Scam (2007):

In the history of the Indian Penal Code, another landmark was the introduction of the 2G spectrum scam, which, like many others, resulted in dramatic changes. There was again a tendency to require reforms and anti-corruption laws for more financial inspections, although the government part of India was underpriced for the licenses of telecoms.

CONCLUSION:

From ancient philosophical and religious texts to modern-day legal codes, Indian criminology has a rich and diverse history. While this justice system was primarily modelled on the one that existed under British rule, it was greatly influenced by the social conditions prevailing in India at the time of Independence. The desired reforms, for instance, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam are those to revise the old law, to deal with new-age issues such as cybercrime or organized crime, and generally to enhance the speed of and justice in criminal administration. These measures underline India’s commitment to a principled and just society in which the rule of law will reign supreme.”

REFERENCES:

1.      https://law.dypvp.edu.in/Blogs/evolution-of-criminal-law-adapting-to-modern-challenges

2.      https://www.lexisnexis.in/blogs/new-criminal-laws-in-india/

3.      https://ijrpr.com/uploads/V5ISSUE5/IJRPR28012.pdf

4.      https://www.nujs.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Vol-7-Issue-4-7.pdf

5.      http://data.conferenceworld.in/ICSSR/28.pdf

6.      https://aishwaryasandeep.in/brief-history-of-criminal-law-in-india/