The law of the land must reflect the changing times. That the codes of Indian law needed reform cannot be argued with: two of the three principal — anachronistic — templates of law that were in place till recently, the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Evidence Act, had been enacted in the 19th century. So the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which have come into being, are a timely intervention. Some of their provisions are symbolic, in letter and spirit, of the imperatives of progress and modernity. For instance, among other features, community service has been introduced to replace punitive denouement in some cases; speedy trials, an essential measure to decongest Indian courts, have been emphasised; child marital rape and lynching have been identified as offences; video-conferencing facilities for trials underlined and so on. But there are areas of concern too. This is because a body of laws framed with an eye to make a clean break from the past should not have retained elements that, arguably, echo colonial legislations. For instance, policing powers have been extended: the maximum limit of police custody is now much enhanced; sedition, the Narendra Modi government’s claim of doing away with it notwithstanding, has been retrofitted with a wider definition; marital rape, where the woman is not a minor, remains unacknowledged, as do rape of males and violence against the queer community. There are, however, whispers that the BNS may be amended to address the two latter lapses. The continuities between the BSA and the IEA are disconcerting as well.

These red flags go to show that the consultative process that was a precursor to the passage of the new laws ought to have been more expansive. Tellingly, the bills had been passed in Parliament at a time when a large chunk of the Opposition was suspended. It is more than likely that the deliberations on the new laws would continue. And therein lies an opportunity: the powers that be must ensure that these discussions are inclusive, with civil society and experts working in tandem with the government and the Opposition. Laws are not meant to be written in stone. In a democracy, they are essentially a work in progress.