New Delhi: As the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita was enacted today, the first FIR was filed against a street vendor for blocking a road near the New Delhi Railway Station. The FIR, under Section 285 of the new criminal code, stipulates punishment for causing danger, obstruction, or injury in a public way, with fines up to five thousand rupees.
The incident occurred when a police officer on patrol last night noticed the vendor selling water bottles and gutkha from a makeshift stall obstructing the road. Despite repeated requests to move, the vendor did not comply, leading the officer to file an FIR.
According to the FIR, the vendor had set up his stall under a footbridge near the railway station. The sub-inspector, who repeatedly asked the vendor to relocate, documented the incident using the E-praman application after several bystanders refused to assist in the investigation.
The vendor has been identified as Pankaj Kumar from Patna, Bihar.
Three new criminal codes - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam - have come into force today. They will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The criminal codes have been changed with an objective of ensuring speedy justice and to tackle new kinds of crime. Judgments are now required within 45 days of completion of trial and charges must be framed within 60 days of first hearing.
