SHILLONG, Oct 24: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) has passed the KHAD (Administration of Justice) (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which aims to align the Council’s laws with the Centre’s new criminal laws.
The amendment was passed on the final day of the KHADC’s winter session without any discussion, as opposition MDCs did not propose any changes despite Opposition Leader Titosstarwell Chyne having earlier expressed his reservations when Executive Member in charge of Law, Deity H. Majaw, introduced the amendment on the first day of the session.
It may be mentioned that the amendment seeks to align the KHADC’s laws with the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which have replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) under central law.
To ensure consistency with these new central legislations, the amendment replaces all references to “the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973” in Sections 43(1), 55(2) and 56 of the Principal Act with “the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.”
Earlier, Opposition Leader in the KHADC, Titosstarwell Chyne, had raised strong objections, while questioning the legal basis for introducing these amendments without corresponding changes to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“We understand that the Administration of Justice Act was framed under Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule in 1953. The question now is—on what basis can this amendment be made when the Sixth Schedule has not yet been amended as per the 125th Amendment Bill, 2019?” Chyne had said.
He further questioned how the KHADC could reference the BNS and BNSS when the constitutional provisions empowering autonomous councils to administer justice remain unchanged.
“We cannot introduce such amendments until the Sixth Schedule itself is amended,” Chyne reiterated.
