Old and new criminal laws to co-exist for years in Rajasthan due to massive backlog

JAIPUR: The new criminal laws that came into effect on July 1 will coexist for another few decades with the old set of laws due to the massive backlog of criminal cases in the state.
More than 18 lakh cases are currently being tried or are pending for trial under IPC sections, presenting the state’s legal system with an unprecedented challenge.
Legal professionals anticipate difficulties for courts, advocates, and law enforcement agencies in navigating the two different sets of laws simultaneously.Procedural challenges are also expected to arise during trials.
The National Judicial Data Grid reveals that Rajasthan has 18.32 lakh pending criminal cases, with the Rajasthan High Court alone having a backlog of 1.72 lakh cases.
Among these, 30,233 cases have been pending for 5-10 years, 23,588 for 10-20 years, and 10,852 for more than 20 years.
Tanveer Ahmed, an advocate at the High Court, emphasized the need to adapt to the new laws while still dealing with the old ones. He said he was using AI tools to quickly compare sections of both laws when needed.
Criminal lawyer Sandeep Bajwa stressed the importance of staying updated with the new laws, especially for elderly lawyers who have mastered the old laws but may struggle to adapt to the new ones.
“For example, provisions regarding police and judicial remand have changed. Criminal lawyers will end up making a big mistake if they argue based on the old laws. It could hurt their clients’ interests,” Bajwa said.