Co-reported with Sarvesh Mathi India’s Ministry of Home Affairs on August 10 introduced three new bills in the Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament) to overhaul the criminal laws of the country: Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973 to be replaced by Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 [PDF] Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 to be replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 [PDF] Indian Evidence Act of 1872 to be replaced by Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 [PDF] The three bills have been sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs for further examination and recommendations. We break down the parts of the three bills that are most likely to impact the digital ecosystem. I. Updating the CrPC for the digital era: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Search and seizure of laptops, phones, and other electronic evidence are now explicitly allowed Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, allows the court or the police officer in charge to produce a written order summoning any document or thing required for an investigation as evidence. Notably, this proposed law explicitly includes summoning of “digital evidence,” and covers any electronic communication such as messages, call recordings, and emails as well as electronic communication devices such as mobile phones, laptops, cameras, and any other electronic device that may be specified by the government through notification in the future. A court also has the right to order search and seizure of such evidence for various reasons including if the person…
