Parliament cleared a raft of crucial bills that are set to replace British-era criminal codes, regulate the telecom industry, and shape the selection of India’s top election officials as the most acrimonious session in years, marked by a shocking breach of security and the unprecedented suspension of 146 Opposition members, closed on Thursday.

Read here: LS suspends 3 more MPs; Kharge accuses PM Modi of ‘violation of privilege’

The winter session ended a day ahead of schedule after the Lok Sabha passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, and the Rajya Sabha approved the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Saksha (Second) Adhiniyam, which replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act respectively.

The Lower House also passed the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, with a voice vote. In almost every case, the bills sailed through Houses with near-empty Opposition benches even as a bevy of leaders protested against their suspension outside Parliament.

“The passage of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 is a watershed moment in our history. These bills mark the end of colonial-era laws. A new era begins with laws centered on public service and welfare,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.

“Today is a historic day for the country, because today India has got its new criminal justice laws. Congratulations to all Indians on this proud moment. The three bills passed in Parliament today will replace the laws enacted by the British and will realise the decades-old dream of an indigenous justice system,” Union home minister Amit Shah said on X.

Both Houses were adjourned sine die, bringing to an end the 14-day-long session where fault lines between the government and the Opposition that were first on display during the expulsion of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra only deepened after a brazen incursion into the Lok Sabha and the suspension of a record number of Opposition members over protests and the demand that Union home minister respond to the breach inside Parliament. Over eight days, 146 Opposition leaders were suspended from both Houses from the side, intensifying the bitterness and creating dispiriting scenes of crucial bills being debated in the Houses with only a handful of Opposition members present.

In all, the Lok Sabha passed 18 bills and recorded a productivity of 74%, said speaker Om Birla. The Upper House approved 17 bills and recorded a productivity of 79%, said chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

“I am pained to state that nearly 22 hours were lost due to avoidable disruptions adversely impacting our overall productivity… Weaponising disruptions and disturbance as a political strategy doesn’t resonate with our constitutional obligation of keeping the interest of people at large above any other political considerations,” Dhankhar added.

The Opposition hit back.

“Such important bills were there, and the Opposition was suspended. The government made no effort to break the logjam… in the Rajya Sabha, the Chair did not give the Leader of the Opposition (Mallikarjun Kharge) even a chance to speak so we had to walk out. How is this democratic?” asked Shiva Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.

The day began with the Lok Sabha taking up the controversial bill regulating the appointment and conditions of service of India’s top election officials, reaffirming the executive’s grip on the Election Commission of India (ECI) months before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The legislation, which was passed by a voice vote, came months after the Supreme Court laid down a temporary selection procedure that included the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as a member of the selection panel, along with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The new bill replaces CJI with a Cabinet minister, effectively giving the government a 2-1 majority in the panel.

Before the top court’s March 2 verdict, CEC and ECs used to be appointed by the Prime Minister and the council of ministers, under the seal of the President. The court, in its order, had called for a law on how the CECs and ECs should be picked, saying no such mechanism existed at the time.

“The Supreme Court rendered a verdict under Article 342, mandating the formulation of election commission rules. Despite the passing of many years without a corresponding law, the issue was taken up via a PIL, and the SC provided interim measures until a law was established. However, no legislation concerning appointments was enacted. Under the Modi government, we seek to enact it,” said law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal.

He flagged that the search committee will be under the law minister, top election officials will be shielded from judicial action while executing official responsibilities, and their salary and position will align with those of a Supreme Court judge.

The bill was supported by the YSR Congress, Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Partty and Biju Janata Dal. But All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Assaduddin Owaisi, one of the few Opposition members in the House, opposed the bill.

“If voters start feeling that ECI is not an impartial and non-partisan body, the legitimacy of our democracy comes into question,” he said.

Later in the day, the Lower House also cleared the press and periodicals bill, which simplifies and digitises the process of registering newspapers and other periodicals with the Press Registrar, sets up an appellate board to deal with issues related to registration, and decriminalises all but one offence.

The Rajya Sabha took up the telecommunications bill, a day after it cleared the Lok Sabha. The bill — which allows for the administrative allocation of satellite spectrum, replaces the licensing regime for telecommunication service providers with an authorisation regime, cements measures to protect users in the law, and provides a four-tiered structure for dispute resolution – by a voice vote in the absence of most Opposition members.

“This bill has been formulated with today’s requirements, with today’s economic needs and with today’s aspirations in mind,” said communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while replying to the discussion in Upper House.

In the evening, the upper House took up the three bills that are meant to replace colonial-era crime codes in India. The debate continued for a little over six hours and saw at least 30 leaders speak.

IPC, which deals with a majority of criminal offences, was brought by the British in 1860. It was adopted by the Indian government after Independence and has been amended around 77 times, but there were calls from some quarters for revamping the entire criminal justice system as it was considered obsolete and a colonial legacy.

The bills were first tabled in Parliament on August 11, and then sent to a parliamentary standing committee. Some of the suggestions of the panel were incorporated, and a set of new bills (labelled as “second”) were tabled on December 12.

The three bills include key changes that deal with offences of terrorism and acts against the State, enable the registration of e-FIRs, factor in corruption in election processes, and make electronic evidence a form of primary proof. Crimes such as mob lynching have been separately defined for the first time, with detailed provisions and enhanced punishment for crimes against women and children.

They also set time limits for certain processes – charge sheets need to be filed within 90 days (a court may grant a maximum of a 90-day extension on an agency’s request) and a magistrate has to take cognisance in 14 days, and criminalise acts such as mob lynching, while also decriminalising medical negligence allegations against doctors.

“Congratulations to all Bharatwasis on this proud moment as our nation finally gets its criminal justice laws. Guided by PM @narendramodi Ji’s resolve to leave no one behind, it will prioritize the security of women and children, recognizing the rights of citizens as of paramount importance,” Shah said on X.

Read here: ‘Watershed moment in history’: PM Modi on 3 criminal law bills passed in Rajya Sabha

Despite the bevy of important bills passed, the cloud of the suspensions hung over Parliament as only a handful of Opposition members were present in the House when key pieces of legislation were discussed.

“We, the people of India need to Save Democracy. Passing important legislation by suspending Opposition MPs is not Democracy. It is the worst kind of authoritarianism. Our future generations will not forgive us, if we do not raise our voices against this dictatorship, NOW !” Kharge wrote on X.