In order to tackle some of the serious offences which pose grave threats to internal security of the country, and which were not being dealt within the existing provisions of Penal Laws, new offences have been added in the BNS. The BNS has addressed these loopholes in order to strengthen the fight against terror.
- In organised crime, if the offence has resulted in the death of any person, the accused shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine, which shall not be less than Rs. 10 lakh. Punishment has also been provided for those who assist in the commission of an organised crime. Member of an organised crime syndicate shall also be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 5 years and could extend to imprisonment for life. Petty organised crimes have also been criminalised for which imprisonment could be up to 7 years. The relevant provisions are under Clauses 111 and 112, BNS.
- The crime of terrorism and
punishment thereto has now been defined in BNS. The punishments have been made stringent and fines are on the higher side to deter such acts. In both the cases (terrorism and organised crime), the proceeds of crime and property will also be liable for attachment and forfeiture.
Terrorist Act (Clause 113 of BNS) - Through Cl. 113, the offence of ‘terrorist act’ has been introduced in the BNS. Where the act results in the death of any person, it is punishable with death or life imprisonment; otherwise, it is punishable with imprisonment which may range from five years to life. Alongside, a slew of related offences have also been introduced in the same clause. Under terror laws, crimes are recast as a ‘terrorist act’ if they are committed with a specific intent. A similar structure has been retained in Cl. 113, where a variety of acts are recast as terrorist acts, but the qualifying special intent has been modified.
- While under the UAPA, the intent must be to ‘threaten… the unity, security,
- economic security or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror”; in Cl. 113, the intent must be to ‘threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity and security of India, to intimidate the general public… or to disturb public order. Although the acts covered under the provision largely mirrors. 15(1) of the UAPA, a few notable changes have been introduced in Cl. 113.
- Destruction of public facilities or private property is now criminalised, whereas under the UAPA, only destruction of property used by the Government is within the scope of terror acts. Acts which cause ‘extensive interference with, damage or destruction to critical infrastructure’ have also been recognised under this clause. This is in recognition of the evolving reality of transnational terrorism; interference with critical infrastructure, which are often vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Organised Crime and Petty Organised Crime (Cl. 111 and Cl. 112 of BNS) - Cls. 111 and 112 of the BNS have, for the first time, introduced ‘organised crime’ as an offence under a central law, which would be applicable throughout the country. Prior to this, ‘organised crime’ was penalised in some states through legislations.
- Organised crime under Cl. 111 refers to a continuing unlawful activity carried out (a) by groups of individuals acting in concert, either singly or
jointly, or as a member of or on behalf of an organised crime syndicate, (b) by the use of violence, threat of violence, intimidation, coercion or other unlawful means (c) to gain direct or indirect material benefit (including financial benefit). - Cl. 111 provides an illustrative list of unlawful activities and includes (i) kidnapping (ii) robbery (iii) vehicle theft (iv) extortion (v) land grabbing (vi) contract killing (vii) economic offences (viii) cyber-crimes having severe consequences (ix) trafficking in people, drugs, illicit goods or services and weapons and (x) human trafficking racket for prostitution or ransom.
- Cl. 112 penalises common forms of organised crime by criminal groups or gangs that cause general feelings of insecurity among citizens, as ‘petty organised crime’. It also provides an illustrative list of unlawful activities, including various forms of theft, procuring money in an unlawful manner in a public transport system, illegal selling of tickets, and selling of public examination question papers.
- In organised crime, if the offence has resulted in the death of any person, the accused shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine, which shall not be less than Rs. 10 lakhs. Punishment has also been provided for those who assist in the commission of an organised crime. Member of an organised crime syndicate shall also be punishable
- with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 5 years and could extend to imprisonment for life. Petty organised crimes have also been criminalised for which imprisonment could be up to 7 years. The relevant provisions are under Clauses 111 and 112.
- Tough provisions in laws for Proclaimed offenders
- Proclaimed offenders not only exploited the loopholes of the current criminal justice system but this also had a fall out as the victims had to wait for indefinite period to secure justice. The emphasis in BNSS is towards compelling the participation of offenders in trial and, in case they abscond, to complete the trial in order to provide timely justice to the victim. The proclaimed offenders would also be penalised through seizure/forfeiture of their properties.
- The BNSS has outlined the nature of offences for which an accused may be declared as a proclaimed offender (Cl. 84/4, in general for offences that are punishable with 10 years’ imprisonment or more, or with life imprisonment or with death), it allows Courts to try proclaimed offenders in absentia9 (Cl. 356) and it also allows Courts to attach properties belonging to proclaimed persons in countries or
places outside India (Cl. 86). These provisions attempt to strike a balance between the twin considerations of Right to Fair Trial of the accused in which meaningful opportunity has been given to defend themselves and the overarching public interest of delivering timely justice.
