President of India, Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill and the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill.Here on, the bill will be termed as Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 and the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022.
Objective:
The objective of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 is to authorise for taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records.
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 has replaced the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920. Several modifications have been made to control the crimes happening in India.
The Bill explains:
- The type of data that may be collected.
- Persons from whom such data may be collected.
- The authority that may authorise such a collection.
- It also provides for the data to be stored in a central database.
- Under both the 1920 Act and the 2022 Act, resistance or refusal to give data will be considered an offence of obstructing a public servant from doing his duty.
Comparison Between The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 And The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022:
- The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920
i.The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 allows police officers to collect certain identifiable information (fingerprints and footprints) of persons including convicts and arrested persons.
ii.Also, a Magistrate may order measurements or photographs of a person to be taken to aid the investigation of an offence.
iii.In case of acquittal or discharge of the person, all material must be destroyed.
- The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
i.Identifiable information has been added such as biological samples, and their analysis, behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting, examinations under sections 53 and 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) includes (blood, semen, hair samples, and swabs, and analyses such as DNA profiling).
ii.If a person is convicted or arrested for any offence, the data of biological samples may be taken forcibly only from persons arrested for offences against a woman or a child, or if the offence carries a minimum of 7 years imprisonment.
iii.Data of the persons detained under any preventive detention law
iv.Person who makes direct collection of data:
- Officer in charge of a police station, or of rank Head Constable or Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of first class. In addition, a Head Warder of a prison can collect the data.
Records Of The Prisoners:
i.The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the central agency to maintain the records. It will share the data with law enforcement agencies. Further, states/UTs may notify agencies to collect, preserve, and share data in their respective jurisdictions.
ii.The data collected will be retained in digital or electronic form for 75 years. Records will be destroyed in case of persons who are acquitted after all appeals, or released without trial. However, in such cases, a Court or Magistrate may direct the retention of details after recording reasons in writing.
The Bill Excludes Political Detainees:
Under section 3, the government of India has the right to make rules.
i.The biometric data of political detainees would not be collected and the proposed law would exclude brain mapping and polygraph tests.
ii.It also ensures that no person involved in a political agitation has to give (physical and biometric) measurements only for political agitation.
- But, if a political leader is arrested in a criminal case, then he will have to be detained as a citizen.
Note:
The Bill also violates the Right to Privacy (Article 21) as well as Equality (Article 14)
Click here to read more about the Act.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022
President gives assent to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 25, 2022 and here on the bill will be termed as Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022
i.The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament. Later the Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into,
- North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).
- South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
- East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).
ii.The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 seeks to unify the three corporations.
In the unification the Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
About The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022:
i.The Act provides the number of seats in three corporations taken together should not be more than 272. The 14th Schedule to the Act specifies 272 wards across the three Corporations. The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.
ii.The Bill omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies.
iii.The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.
iv.The Bill establishes an e-governance system for citizen services on an anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration.
v.The Bill omits the provisions such as the sweeper employed for doing house scavenging of a building would be required to give a reasonable cause or a 14-day notice before discontinuing his service.
Click here to read more about the Act.
Recently Related News:
President of the Russian Federation H.E. Vladimir Putin paid an official visit to India, New Delhi on 6 December 2021 for the 21st India–Russia Annual Summit.Background: On 10th November 2021, the 3rd Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was hosted by India in New Delhi, where the “Delhi Declaration” was adopted by 8 countries to promote terrorism free, inclusive government in Afghanistan.
About The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022
Ministry – Ministry of Home Affairs
Union Ministry of Home Affairs – Amit Shah (Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat)
Ministry of Home Affairs of State – Nityanand Rai, Ajay Kumar Mishra, Nisith Pramanik
