The Tamil Nadu police are preparing to enforce the new criminal laws with effect from July 1. About 35,000 police personnel have been trained, while the remaining of the 1.25 lakh will soon be exposed to the new legislations that would replace the colonial laws.
The training programmes commenced soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the States that Parliament had replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with three “progressive and modern pieces of legislation”, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, respectively.
Director-General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force Shankar Jiwal said the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Delhi, had nominated the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI), Hyderabad, as the nodal hub for training the Tamil Nadu State Police. In the first phase, 163 police officials were trained by various offline/online courses.
Police officers posted in 22 training institutions in the State were exposed to the new criminal laws in the first week of April. Similarly, police personnel in the four zones, cities, special units, and other establishments were trained in different batches. The Tamil Nadu Police Academy was also actively involved in the training activities.
“As of now, we have a pool of 1,024 master trainers to conduct classes to other members of the force in a phased manner. A consolidated course was prepared in consultation with the CDTI and legal experts. This is being circulated to master trainers to conduct offline/online classes. The services of public prosecutors was also being utilised in the exercise,” Mr. Jiwal said.
He added that the impact of the criminal laws on the special local laws and other State-specific laws, such as the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Destruction and Loss) Act, 1982, and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act, 1998, were being examined separately and would be implemented accordingly.
While the process of translating the new criminal laws in Tamil has begun, the course syllabus at the Police Training Colleges and the Tamil Nadu Police Academy had been duly changed, the DGP said.
