Parliament Watch: Criminal Law amendments, undertrials and more [Days 1-3 roundup]

The first three days of the ongoing 2022 Budget Session of Parliament saw questions answered on topics ranging from the criminal law reform process to the status of undertrials in the country..To question by CPM Member of Parliament from Kerala John Brittas, Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra said that the Central government has initiated the process for comprehensive amendments to Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 "in consultation with all stakeholders".Brittas had asked on Wednesday about the existence, objectives and timeline of the said reforms. "The legislation of such laws is a complex and lengthy exercise given the spectrum of divergent views of stakeholders. The entire procedure is a long drawn out one and no time-limit can be fixed or given for this legislative process," the reply stated. .BJP MP from Maharashtra Vikas Mahatme on Wednesday asked for the state-wise number of undertrial prisoners in the country as well as the detention periods they have undergone.The answer revealed that across the country, there are 3,71,848 undertrials, with 52,925 of them having been behind bars awaiting completion of trial for more than two years. Uttar Pradesh has 80,557 undertrials, while Bihar had 44,187. The numbers are as on December 31, 2020..Congress MP from Rajasthan Neeraj Dangi asked about the spate of terror activities in Kashmir, as well as lives lost after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India.Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai revealed that that there have been 541 terror incidents, with 98 civilian lives lost, 109 security force lives lost, and 439 terrorists killed. .To a question by Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh Rajmani Patel, the following annexure was shared with regards to district judges across States. It was stated that there are 606 district judges belonging to the Scheduled Castes, 199 from the Scheduled Tribes, and 1,321 from the Other Backward Classes. .BJP MP Sanjay Seth tabled a question before the Rajya Sabha on the number of cases heard across courts since the pandemic.Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, responding to the question, mentioned that 17 virtual courts set up to hear traffic challan cases have heard more than 1.2 crore cases, and in over 20 lakh cases, "online fine of more than ₹212 (212.01) crore has been realised till January 19, 2021." Rijiju further stated, "The Supreme Court of India has emerged as a global leader by conducting 1,81,909 hearings till January 8, 2022 since the beginning of lockdown period. The High Courts (57,39,966 cases and Subordinate Courts (1,08,36,087 cases) have conducted 1.65 crore virtual hearings till November 30, 2021."