New criminal laws in force across India

What changed

From 1 July 2024, three new codes replaced the three colonial-era criminal laws:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS): offences and their punishments. It replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS): arrest, investigation, bail and trial procedure. It replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA): the rules of evidence in court. It replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

All three received the President’s assent on 25 December 2023. The Central Government then notified 1 July 2024 as the date they came into force.

Some big changes

• The BNS adds community service as a punishment (Section 4).
• Organised crime (Section 111) and terrorist acts (Section 113) are now offences in the BNS itself.
• Murder by a group of five or more on grounds such as caste or religion has its own provision (Section 103(2)).
• Under the BNSS, an FIR can be lodged at any police station wherever the offence took place, and information can also be given electronically (Section 173).
• Searches and seizures must be recorded on audio-video (Section 105).
• The BSA recognises electronic records as evidence. The rules for their certificate are in Section 63.

What happens to old cases

Offences committed before 1 July 2024 are still punished under the IPC. Investigations, trials and appeals pending on that date continue under the old CrPC (Section 531 of the BNSS).