The News
India overhauled its penal code for the first time since the country’s independence from British colonial rule. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the changes would “give justice, not punishment,” but critics warned a flood of possible cases could overwhelm India’s already overburdened court system. The overhaul includes the repeal of a colonial-era sedition law, an expansive new definition of terrorism, and the criminalization of activities deemed to cause “danger, obstruction or injury” in public (these rules have already been used to fine a street vendor for blocking a road). The Indian Express argued the changes should be part of a “work in progress” to transform the judicial system, one “that needs laws to constantly adapt to the changing needs of those it seeks to govern.”
