The Constitution and the Reimaging of Criminal Law

Abstract

The thesis examines the impact of the Constitution on ordinary criminal law, ie. Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act (IEA) that were introduced by the British. The Constitution operates as meta law demanding that all laws adhere to its basic principles especially fundamental rights. Colonial criminal law focused on maintaining law and order and treated individuals as subjects while Constitution is premised on ideas of justice, equity and equal citizenship. The study seeks to look at legal changes through three prisms- legislative changes, judgments of the Supreme Court of India and suggestions of official reports including Law Commission of India- within the paradigm of triad of colonial criminal law, rule of law and constitutionalism. This study looks at the significance and importance of the constitution in the re-imagination of state-citizen relations and law in particular. The methodology is legal historiography studying the development of criminal law from 1950 when the Constitution came into force until March 2023 as well as a sociological study which analysis the nature of the changes, the impact of the Constitution as well as other influences on the development of criminal law.