India replaces colonial-era criminal laws to provide 'justice'

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures during a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in New Delhi, India, June 9, 2024. [Reuters]

India replaced colonial-era criminal laws with new legislation on Monday, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said would make the country more just, but the opposition said risked throwing the criminal justice system into disarray.

The new laws were approved by parliament in December in Modi's previous term with the government saying they aim to "give justice, not punishment." It says they were needed as colonial laws had been at the core of the criminal justice system for more than a century.