The Bills were passed amidst the suspension of 97 Opposition members from the Lok Sabha and 44 members from the Rajya Sabha.
Published Dec 20, 2023 | 9:48 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 20, 2023 | 9:48 PM
The new Parliament building. (Creative Commons)
Both Houses of the Parliament, on Wednesday, 20 December passed several crucial Bills that were tabled.
The Bills were passed amidst the suspension of 97 Opposition members from the Lok Sabha and 44 members from the Rajya Sabha.
The passed Bills also included the three crucial Bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws — the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
The Bills that were passed are:
The Lok Sabha passed three redrafted Bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill.
Replying to a debate on the Bills in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, 20 December, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the House, that had suspended more than half of its Opposition members, that the proposed laws were framed after comprehensive consultations.
This, even as dissent notes pointing to several concerns in the Bills — right from their Hindi names in violation of Constitutional norms to provisions made — were submitted by Opposition MPs during scrutiny of the Bills.
“The three new Bills seek to establish a justice system based on Indian thinking… The three proposed criminal laws will free people from the colonial mindset and its symbols,” Shah said, before the Lok Sabha passed the Bills by voice vote.
A Bill allowing the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the “interest of national security”, and providing a non-auction route for the allocation of satellite spectrum was approved by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Union government to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
The Bill, piloted by Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, provides for stopping transmission and intercepting messages “in case of public emergency, in the interest of the public, to prevent incitement for committing offence”.
According to the Bill, the press messages of correspondents accredited to the Centre or state governments shall not be intercepted or detained unless their transmission has been prohibited under rules applicable for public emergency, public order etc.
Parliament, on Wednesday, passed the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, paving the way for provisionally effect changes in customs and excise duties announced in the Budget from midnight.
The Bill comes with a provision to refund taxes collected that have not been incorporated in the Finance Bill.
It repeals The Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931.
While moving the Bill for passage on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Bill sought to obtain the authority from Parliament to provisionally levy and collect the newly imposed or increased duties of customs and excise for 75 days.
While the changes in rates of income and corporate taxes, incorporated in the Budget announced on 1 February, are effective from 1 April or a notified date, most of the changes in customs and excise duty rates become effective from midnight.
Parliament, on Wednesday, passed a Bill that will raise the cap on the age limit for president and members of GST Appellate Tribunals.
The Bill was approved with a voice vote in Rajya Sabha and returned to Lok Sabha, which had passed the Bill on Tuesday.
In the post-lunch session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved The Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Upper House.
The Bill seeks to raise the cap on age for president and members of the GST Appellate Tribunals (GSTAT) to 70 years and 67 years, respectively.
Currently, the age limit for the president is 67 years and for members is 65 years.
The Bill also seeks to align the provisions of the Central GST Act in line with the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021.
Among others, with the latest amendments, an advocate with 10 years of ‘substantial experience’ in litigation in matters relating to indirect taxes in an appellate tribunal, would be eligible to be appointed as a judicial member of the GSTAT.
A Bill to extend protection to unauthorised colonies in Delhi against punitive action for three years beyond the 31 December deadline, till December 2026, was passed by Parliament on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Act, 2023 was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha, after a brief discussion in which three members took part.
Speaking on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that problems in Delhi existed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed the responsibility for governance in the country in May 2014 and the problems were due to neglect.
He said the Bill has been under discussion by the Union government since 2019 after the Delhi Chief Minister sought two more years to complete the work.
(With PTI inputs)
