Fresh cases can be filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court under both, the new or the old criminal laws, and the court registry cannot object to it, a circular issued on Thursday by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu said, reported Bar and Bench.

The three new criminal laws – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – took effect on July 1.

They replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Provisions under the old laws will continue to apply to offences committed before July 1.

The Centre has been criticised by some Opposition-ruled states for passing the laws without proper consultation in Parliament. The laws were passed in December at a time when 100 Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha, besides 46 in the Rajya Sabha, were suspended.

Some states also requested the Centre to defer the implemention of the laws until they had been thoroughly reviewed. The Tamil Nadu government on Monday set up a committee to review the new criminal laws and recommend amendments to them that would be applicable only in the southern state.

On June 27, the Bar Council of India had said that several bar associations across the country have planned to hold indefinite protests unless the new laws are suspended.

The Bar Council of West Bengal observed July 1 as a “Black Day”, describing the new laws as anti-people, undemocratic and likely to cause great hardship to citizens.

Also read: Are India’s police prepared to enforce the new criminal laws on July 1?