India’s New Criminal Laws (BNS, BNSS, BSA) Explained

India’s new criminal laws are three codes that came into force on 1 July 2024: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code of 1860; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973; and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), which replaced the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. Together they form the statutory core of the criminal justice system, covering what counts as a crime, how police and courts handle a case, and what evidence a court may accept.

The Union Government presented the new criminal laws as a move to modernise colonial-era statutes, speed up investigation and trial through fixed timelines, bring in technology and forensic science, and use Indian terminology. The laws have also drawn debate, and this explainer sets out the changes, the transition rules for old cases, and the points raised by supporters and critics.

Key Takeaways

• The three new criminal laws, the BNS, BNSS and BSA, came into force across India on 1 July 2024 and replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.
• The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita adds new offences such as organised crime, petty organised crime, terrorist acts and murder by a mob of five or more persons on identity grounds, and introduces community service as a punishment for certain petty offences.
• The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provides for e-FIR and Zero FIR, mandatory forensic visits for serious offences, video recording of searches and seizures, and time limits at several stages of investigation and trial.
• The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam gives electronic and digital records the same standing as paper documents and replaces the old Section 65B certificate with a certificate under Section 63.
• Offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue to be investigated and tried under the older laws, because Article 20(1) of the Constitution bars retrospective punishment.
• The new criminal laws are debated: supporters point to decolonisation, victim focus and speed, while critics point to the large continuity with the IPC, language and transition costs, and concerns about police powers.

What are India’s new criminal laws?

India’s new criminal laws are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which together replaced the three principal criminal statutes of the country from 1 July 2024. They are central Acts, but because criminal law and criminal procedure fall in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, States may also make amendments suited to local needs, subject to the rules on repugnancy under Article 254.

The three laws divide the work in the same way as the older statutes. The BNS is the substantive law that defines offences and punishments. The BNSS is the procedural law that governs arrest, investigation, bail, trial, appeals and sentencing procedure. The BSA is the law of evidence that decides which facts and documents a court may consider and how they must be proved.

Why did India replace the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act?

India replaced the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act because the Union Government wanted to modernise statutes drafted in the nineteenth century, remove provisions seen as colonial in purpose, and address delays, technology and victim needs. The Indian Penal Code was drafted under Thomas Babington Macaulay and enacted in 1860, and the Evidence Act dates to 1872, while the present CrPC was enacted in 1973 as a successor to the 1898 code.

The government stated four broad aims.

• Modernisation: remove obsolete language and recognise offences such as organised crime, terrorism and offences involving technology.
• Timelines: fix deadlines for steps such as preliminary enquiry, charge-sheets, framing of charges and delivery of judgments, in order to reduce delay.
• Technology and forensics: permit electronic filing and summons, audio-video recording, and mandatory forensic involvement in serious cases.
• Indianisation: use Indian names and an Indian framing, with emphasis on justice and citizen security rather than on the authority of the colonial state.

The process began with the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws, set up in 2020 under Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh, former Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Delhi. The Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2023, referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, withdrawn, and then reintroduced in revised form in December 2023. Parliament passed them that month, and they received Presidential assent on 25 December 2023. A notification later fixed 1 July 2024 as the commencement date.

What does the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) change?

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita changes the IPC by reorganising chapters, shortening the code from 511 to 358 sections, adding new offences and altering some punishments, while retaining most of the older definitions. Chapters on offences against women and children now come before offences against the human body, a placement that the government described as a signal of priority.

New or newly defined offences

• Organised crime (Section 111): continuing unlawful activity by a group, such as kidnapping, extortion, contract killing, cyber-crime, trafficking or economic offences, carried out for material benefit. Where the offence causes death, the punishment can extend to death or life imprisonment.
• Petty organised crime (Section 112): organised petty theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised ticket selling and similar offences by a gang.
• Terrorist act (Section 113): a definition of a terrorist act is placed in the general penal code, alongside the existing special law on the subject.
• Mob lynching (Section 103(2)): murder by a group of five or more persons acting on the ground of race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language or personal belief carries death or life imprisonment, and a minimum term of seven years.
• Snatching (Section 304): snatching is now a specific offence, and no longer falls under theft or robbery alone.
• Acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India (Section 152): this provision replaces the offence of sedition, which was Section 124A of the IPC.
• Sexual intercourse by deceitful means (Section 69): includes a false promise of marriage, a false promise of employment or promotion, and concealment of identity.

Punishments and definitions

Community service is listed as a form of punishment under the BNS for certain minor offences, such as petty theft by first-time offenders, defamation and attempt to commit suicide to compel a public servant to refrain from duty. The BNS also defines “life imprisonment” as imprisonment for the remainder of the natural life of the convict, subject to commutation by the appropriate government. The term “gender” now includes transgender persons, and the Sanhita does not retain the old IPC provisions on adultery, which the Supreme Court had struck down in 2018, or on Section 377, which the Supreme Court had read down in 2018.

What does the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) change?

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita changes the procedure of criminal justice by adding electronic reporting, mandatory forensic involvement, recorded searches and time limits, while keeping the broad architecture of the CrPC. The BNSS has 531 sections and is the longest of the three laws.

Reporting and investigation

• e-FIR: information about a cognizable offence may be given electronically, and the informant must sign it within three days for it to be recorded.
• Zero FIR: a police station can register an FIR irrespective of where the offence took place and then transfer it to the station with jurisdiction.
• Preliminary enquiry: for offences punishable by three to seven years, police may hold a preliminary enquiry, to be completed within 14 days, with permission of a senior officer.
• Forensic visit: for offences punishable with seven years or more, a forensic expert must visit the crime scene to collect evidence.
• Audio-video recording: search and seizure must be recorded by audio-video means, and the recording is to be sent to the Magistrate without delay.

Custody, bail and trial

• Police custody: the maximum of 15 days of police custody can be sought in parts over the first 40 or 60 days of the 60 or 90 days of detention, which the CrPC had restricted to the first 15 days.
• Undertrial bail: a first-time offender who has served one-third of the maximum sentence for an offence may be released on bail, and others after one-half, with exceptions for offences punishable by death or life imprisonment.
• Trial in absentia: proclaimed offenders can be tried in their absence after prescribed notices, which is a new feature of the BNSS.
• Time limits: the BNSS sets deadlines such as 60 days for framing charges from the first hearing on charge, and 45 days for delivering judgment after the arguments are over.
• Attachment: a court may order the attachment and forfeiture of proceeds of crime, with a procedure for notice to affected persons.

The BNSS also expands the use of electronic communication for summons, warrants and the recording of statements, permits examination of witnesses through audio-video links, and requires police to inform the family or a nominated person of an arrest. For victims of certain offences, the police must give updates on investigation progress within 90 days.

What does the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) change?

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam changes the law of evidence mainly by treating electronic and digital records as documents with full evidentiary value, while keeping most principles of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. The BSA has 170 provisions compared with 167 in the Evidence Act.

The key changes are as follows.

• Electronic records: the definition of “document” explicitly includes electronic and digital records, emails, server logs, messages, and location data, and an electronic record is not to be denied legal effect merely because it is in electronic form.
• Certificate requirement: Section 63 of the BSA carries forward the safeguard of Section 65B of the Evidence Act, requiring a certificate for electronic records, but now in a prescribed format signed by the person in charge of the device and an expert, along with a hash value.
• Primary evidence: the rules on primary evidence are widened to cover electronic records stored in multiple places or created simultaneously.
• Oral evidence: oral evidence may be given through electronic means, including by video, which gives legal footing to remote testimony.
• Joint trial: an explanation extends the term to cover a person who has absconded or failed to respond to a warrant, so that rules on co-accused statements can apply alongside trial in absentia.

The BSA also modernises language, drops some outdated illustrations, and adds secondary evidence rules that cover oral admissions and the evidence of a person skilled in examining documents.

How do the BNS, BNSS and BSA compare with the old codes?

The BNS, BNSS and BSA compare with the old codes as shown in the table below, which sets out the replaced statute, the original year and the approximate size of each law.

Section numbers were rearranged, so lawyers, police and students had to learn new numbers for familiar offences. The government provided correlation tables to map the old sections to the new ones.

What happens to cases filed before 1 July 2024?

Cases relating to offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue under the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act, while offences committed on or after that date are governed by the new laws. This follows Article 20(1) of the Constitution, which states that no person may be convicted for an act that was not an offence when committed, or be subjected to a penalty greater than that provided at the time.

The savings clause in the BNSS provides that pending trials, appeals, revisions and investigations that began under the CrPC are to be continued under that Code. In practice, courts in India worked under both sets of laws at the same time for several years. Where the BNS gives a more lenient punishment, the general principle that an accused may take the benefit of a lighter penalty can be argued, but this depends on the facts and the judgments of the courts.

Which provisions in the new criminal laws have been debated?

The provisions most debated in the new criminal laws include the replacement of sedition, the extension of police custody, the treatment of marital rape, the Hindi and Sanskrit names, and the degree of real change. The points are presented below as the two sides have made them.

Points made by supporters

• The laws remove references to colonial rule and Crown authority, and reflect a constitutional framework of citizens’ rights.
• Fixed timelines, e-FIR and digital summons can reduce delay, and mandatory forensic involvement can improve the quality of convictions.
• New offences for organised crime, mob lynching and snatching address types of crime that the IPC did not name.
• Zero FIR and victim updates are described as measures that improve access to justice, particularly for women and children.
• Trial in absentia and attachment of proceeds of crime help in cases where accused persons flee abroad.

Points made by critics

• A large part of the IPC was carried over with new numbers, so critics argue that the change is smaller than the title suggests and that re-learning the law imposes costs on courts and police.
• Section 152 of the BNS is seen by some as a continuation of sedition in a different form, with wording that may be broad, while the Supreme Court had put Section 124A in abeyance in 2022.
• Splitting police custody across a longer period is said to increase the scope for custodial pressure, and some provisions on handcuffing and attachment attracted concerns.
• The marital rape exception was retained, which some groups oppose, while others argue that the matter requires separate debate.
• Some Opposition members of Parliament and State governments raised concerns about the Hindi and Sanskrit titles, as English is also used in courts and many States have other official languages.
• Critics also point out that the success of time limits depends on police strength, forensic laboratories and the number of judges, which the laws themselves do not supply.

Some provisions have been challenged in courts, and interpretation will continue to develop through High Court and Supreme Court rulings. The government has also stated that the laws will be reviewed through implementation committees and training programmes for police, prosecutors and judicial officers.

How are the new criminal laws being implemented?

The new criminal laws are being implemented through training, technology platforms and rules framed by the Union and State governments. Responsibility is shared, because policing and the courts are largely State subjects, while the Ministry of Home Affairs coordinates and the Bureau of Police Research and Development and judicial academies run training.

• Technology: the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) was updated to record FIRs under the new sections, and e-Sakshya, e-Summons and similar applications were introduced for evidence and service of summons.
• Forensics: the National Forensic Sciences University and State forensic laboratories are being expanded to meet the requirement of forensic visits.
• Courts: High Courts framed rules for electronic proceedings, and judicial academies trained magistrates and judges on the new sections.
• Awareness: the police and legal-services authorities have been running awareness programmes so that citizens know about rights such as Zero FIR and e-FIR.

Bottom Line

The new criminal laws replaced three nineteenth and twentieth century statutes with the BNS, BNSS and BSA from 1 July 2024, adding new offences, timelines, electronic procedures and forensic requirements while preserving much of the earlier structure. Their effect will depend on how well States, police, prosecutors and courts implement them and on how the judiciary interprets contested provisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did India’s new criminal laws come into force?

India’s new criminal laws came into force on 1 July 2024. Parliament passed the three Bills in December 2023, and the President gave assent on 25 December 2023. The delay allowed time for training and for preparing technology systems.

Which laws did the BNS, BNSS and BSA replace?

The BNS replaced the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the BNSS replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973, and the BSA replaced the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. Each new law covers the same field as its predecessor, namely offences, procedure and evidence. Many definitions and principles were carried forward, with changes to numbering, language and some provisions.

Is sedition still an offence under the new criminal laws?

The word sedition is not used in the BNS, but Section 152 punishes acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. This replaces Section 124A of the IPC, which the Supreme Court had put in abeyance in 2022. Supporters see Section 152 as a narrower provision tied to acts, while critics say its wording may still be broad.

What happens to old cases under the new criminal laws?

Old cases continue under the earlier laws if the offence was committed before 1 July 2024. FIRs registered earlier and trials already under way are generally concluded under the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act. Only offences committed on or after 1 July 2024 are dealt with under the BNS, BNSS and BSA.

What is a Zero FIR and an e-FIR?

A Zero FIR is an FIR registered at any police station regardless of where the offence occurred, and it is then transferred to the station with jurisdiction. An e-FIR is information about an offence given by electronic means, which the informant must sign within three days. Both are provided under the BNSS to make it easier to report crimes.

What new offences did the BNS add?

The BNS added organised crime, petty organised crime, terrorist acts, mob lynching and snatching as specifically defined offences. It also created an offence for sexual intercourse by deceitful means, including a false promise of marriage. Community service was added as a form of punishment for certain minor offences.

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