Congress leader Abhishekmanu Singhvi lampoons at new 'criminal laws' passed in Parliament ::: Says - "Police reforms were a lost opportunity because of rhetoric and ego"

"Police reforms were actually a lost opportunity because of rhetoric, namkaran and ego. Police reforms have been talked about in innumerable law commission reports by three Supreme Court judgments," Congress leader Abhishekmanu Singhvi said.

He claimed that some structural reforms were not brought about in the new bills, but some reforms were included that were "retrograde". 

Speaking to 'India Today TV', Singhvi even said, "What has been done (passing of the bills in Parliament) was not required at all and is retrograde."

"What a law does is what matters, not rhetoric about colonial laws. A colonial law may be good, and a modern law may be bad, and if the reverse is true, then the former must be amended and substituted by a good law, not because it is colonial, but because you are bringing something good," he added.

"This is a classic case of cosmeticism at its worst. Khoda pahar chuhiya bhi nahi nikli," the Congress MP added.

Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Thursday, Dec 21, a day ahead of the scheduled end of the winter session.

The Upper House passed three bills that seek to replace the colonial-era criminal laws -- the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act. The Lok Sabha gave its nod on Dec 20th.

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday also approved the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 that aims to reform the country's century-old telecom law to make the sector investor-friendly.

The new law will also extend powers to the government to intercept communications.  

Effectively, with the new legislation India has decided on the allotment of internet airwaves satellite instead of bidding, paving way for Elon Musk's Starlink to come to India soon.  

Now, the government has proposed a licensing approach to assigning spectrum for satellite internet services and exempt companies from having to bid for it. 

Notably, Starlink had been lobbying against the bidding of the spectrum for a long time.This major decision by the Centre was mentioned in the new Telecommunications Bill 2023, presented in the Parliament this week. The new bill seeks to replace the 138-year old Indian Telegraph Act that currently governs the sector.

As the move comes as a major win for Elon Musk's Starlink - as well as other global entities like Amazon's Project Kuiper, and the British government's OneWeb - the decision comes as a big setback for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio.

It was reported  a few months back that foreign firms hoping to expand their markets in India have been demanding a licensing approach, concerned that an auction by the country unlike elsewhere will raise the likelihood of other nations following suit, increasing costs and investments.   

Setback for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio

Mukesh Ambani's telecom provider Reliance Jio has been dominating the internet space in India for several years. Jio has been lobbying for bidding for the internet spectrum for several months, hoping to dominate the market in satellite internet airwaves for the coming years.

If the Indian government would have opted for bidding, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel were expected to lead in the space, pushing out international players like Starlink and OneWeb.

But for the Telecommunication Industry, a lot is about to change with the Telecommunication Bill, 2023. 

The proposed bill is looking to replace the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950, the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933.

The new law will allow/empower the government temporary control over telecom services, citing national security concerns.

This unprecedented authority could also extend to the suspension of services in the interest of national security, marking a paradigm shift in the government's influence over the telecommunications landscape.

Under the bill, messages from accredited mediapersons are safeguarded from interception, unless prohibited under the national security clause. Notably, over-the-top (OTT) players or apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, remain excluded from telecom regulations, underscoring the government's commitment to protecting the sovereignty and integrity of India.  

The bill outlines penalties for the unlawful interception of messages, including a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to Rs 2 crore, or both. Additionally, the draft legislation establishes a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to address potential conflicts within the telecom sector.  

Of course, India is a huge market for telecom and internet companies. Tens of millions of people in this country of more than billions use means of communication on daily basis.

The telecom sector in India however, were largely governed by three laws, two of which were made in colonial times and the third in the year 1950.