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Indian President advocates changes in country's penal code

Xinhua, February 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has advocated changes in Indian Penal Code (IPC), saying that it requires thorough revision to meet the changing needs of the 21st century.

"The IPC has undergone very few changes in the last 155 years. Very few crimes have been added to the initial list of crimes and declared punishable," the President said in the southern state of Kerala's city of Kochi Friday.

He added: "Even now, there are offences in the Code which were enacted by the British to meet their colonial needs. Yet, there are many new offences which have to be properly defined and incorporated in the Code."

Stressing that the mandate of criminal law is to punish criminals and prevent recurrence of crime, President Mukherjee said: "Criminal Law has to be necessarily sensitive to changes in social structure and social philosophy."

"It has to be a reflection of contemporary social consciousness and a faithful mirror of a civilization underlining the fundamental values on which it rests," he added.

The Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It was drafted in 1860 on the recommendations of first Law Commission of India and came into force in British India in 1862 during the early British Raj period. Endit