PRS | All about the Criminal Law Bill

All about the Criminal Law Bill

The government introduced the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 on December 4, 2012. The Bill sought to redefine the offence of rape and amend the penal laws in line with the recommendations of the Law Commission and the National Commission for Women. Following the Delhi gang-rape incident, the government constituted a three member committee headed by former Chief Justice Verma to suggest amendments to the criminal laws to ensure speedier justice and enhanced punishments in cases of extreme sexual assault. Upon the submission of the Verma Committee Report, the government notified the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2013 on February 3, 2013. The government withdrew the previous Bill and Ordinance, and introduced the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 on March 19, 2013. In this page, we collate PRS notes and articles on these issues, as well as links to various Acts and Law Commission Reports related to Criminal Law.
Criminal Law Bill, 2013 as Passed by LS	Text of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 as passed by Lok Sabha on March 19, 2013
Criminal Law Bill, 2013	Text of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 19, 2013 to replace the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2013
PRS Legislative Brief	Analysis of Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 and Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2013
PRS Summary of Justice Verma Committee Report	Summary of the Report presented by Justice Verma Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law, 2013
PRS Comparison between the Bill, Committee Report and Ordinance	A comparison of some of the key offences covered under the Bill, the Committee Report and the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance
Justice Verma Committee Report	Text of the Justice Verma Committee Report on Amendments to Criminal Law, 2013
NCW Recommendations	National Commission for Women's recommendations to amend the Criminal Law Act, 2006
Criminal Law Ordinance, 2013	Text of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 notified on February 3, 2013
PRS Blog on Fast Track Courts	An overview of Fast Track Courts in India
PRS Bill Summary	Summary of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012
Criminal Law Bill, 2012	Text of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 4, 2012. The Bill was withdrawn on March 19, 2013. A new Bill replacing the Ordinance was Introduced the same day.