Reuters
Indian lawyers and activists are urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to put on hold three sets of new criminal laws, arguing they will increase litigation in an already overburdened justice system and give excessive powers to police. India this month replaced its criminal justice system - the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the 1973 Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 - with new laws. The new laws, in force since July 1, expand police powers on pre-trial detention of an accused and introduce the death penalty for gang-rape of women aged under 18, among other provisions.