The newly enacted laws—the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act—to change the criminal justice system in the country, will come into effect from July 1.

They aim at a complete overhaul of the British-era laws giving a clear definition of terrorism, abolishing sedition as a crime and introducing a new section titled “offences against the state”—among many other changes. The three laws got the Parliament’s approval on December 21 last year and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25. The laws will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 respectively.