India, July 6 -- For more than 150 years, India's criminal justice system operated under colonial laws designed for governance, not democracy. The Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 endured for decades after Independence. On July 1, 2024, India took a robust decision to replace colonial laws with the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS, the new criminal code), Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS, the new criminal procedure code), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA, the new evidence law)-arguably the most sweeping reform of criminal law in independent India. As Director General of Police, Haryana, I have witnessed this dramatic change not just as an administrator but as a p...