Overhaul in criminal laws to see expansion in definition of organised crime

One of the major changes brought in the proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) would be the expansion in the definition of organised crime and terrorism. Currently, there is no comprehensive definition of organised crime under a single law.

Various state governments have passed the Control of Organised Crime Acts (COCA). Uttar Pradesh and some other states have individual Gangsters Acts, while other offences such as trafficking, dacoity, looting, etc are defined and punished under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

However, the proposed bill would accommodate comprehensive offences of organised crime under Section 109, along with the different types and degrees of involvement, including drug and human trafficking.

It would also include various types of organised gang violence such as contract killings, which, until now, were under different provisions of the IPC, and special laws such as the MCOCA, Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, NDPS, etc.

Economic offences like fraud, hawala transactions and Ponzi schemes, punishable under the IPC or the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and other acts, will be brought under the umbrella of organised crime.

DEGREE OF OFFENSE

The proposed section 109, apart from comprehensive definitions under clauses 1 and 2, also prescribes different punishments for organised crime. The punishment would depend on the degree of offence and harm caused.

Clause 3 of the proposed act includes the definition of “conspiracy” and “membership of an organized crime syndicate” -- offences which were defined under section 120B of the IPC and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) or Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA).

ORGANISED PETTY CRIME

Petty crimes like chain snatching, vehicle thefts, ATM/ticket frauds, pickpocketing, etc have also been brought into the definition of organised petty crime under Section 110.

The current definitions of theft and robbery, which are there in the existing IPC, have also been kept in the proposed law. However, with a change in numbers and punishment.

For instance, Section 378 (for theft) of the IPC is now Section 301, with stricter punishment of up to five years for repeated offences. "Dafa 302" would no longer be considered murder.

Crime like snatching, defined under section 379 (A) under state-specific amendments of the IPC, will now be defined under section 302 of the proposed law with a three-year prison sentence.

TERRORISM

The proposed law also includes a comprehensive section on terrorist activity and terrorist organisation membership, which have so far been covered under various provisions of the existing IPC and the UAPA.

This is in addition to the specific provisions in the proposed bill for “waging war against the government of India” and “offences against State” defined under proposed chapter 7 of the bill, which are identical to the existing sections of chapter 6 of the IPC - Offences Against the State. The proposed section also specifically includes “any activity defined under the UAPA” within the definition of “terrorist activity”.

The new bill has proposed to add hefty financial penalties for “terrorist activities”, which were so far not specifically defined under the existing IPC or UAPA.

While there was always a provision for fines under the IPC and the UAPA for terrorism and terrorist activities, the proposed bill calls for a “mandatory minimum fine” of Rs five lakh to Rs ten lakh, which is not there under the current laws. The current laws allow the courts to impose financial fines on convicted persons as per discretion.