This week in Indian law: India enacted three new criminal codes — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — replacing the Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, and Indian Evidence Act 1872 in the most comprehensive criminal law overhaul since independence. The Telecommunications Act 2023 replaced the 1885 Telegraph Act. Parliament passed the CEC Appointment Act, replacing the SC-mandated collegium process. 12 significant legal developments this week — the most legislatively consequential week of 2023.
Top story
India Replaces IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act With Three New Criminal Codes
Category: legislative-policy | Date: 25 December 2023 | Source: PRS India
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) received Presidential assent on December 25, 2023, replacing the Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, and Indian Evidence Act 1872 respectively. All three Acts are to come into force on 1 July 2024.
Key changes include: the BNS introduces community service as a sentencing option, criminalises mob lynching, and restructures offences against women and the state; the BNSS mandates zero FIR filing, introduces electronic summons and trials via video conferencing, establishes a 90-day mandatory charge-framing timeline, and expands police custody from 15 days to up to 60-90 days across the investigation period; the BSA recognises electronic and digital evidence including video conferencing testimony.
Why it matters: This is the most comprehensive legislative overhaul in Indian legal history, replacing three statutes that governed criminal justice for over 150-163 years. Every criminal law practitioner, prosecutor, police officer, magistrate, and judge must retrain on the new provisions before July 1, 2024. Key practice impacts include: new section numbers for all offences (BNS uses a completely new numbering system), expanded digital evidence rules, changed bail and custody timelines, and mandatory forensic investigation requirements for serious offences.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Legislative and policy developments
Telecommunications Act 2023 Enacted, Replacing 1885 Telegraph Law
Date: 24 December 2023 | Source: Gazette of India
The Telecommunications Act 2023 received Presidential assent on December 24, replacing the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933, and relevant portions of the Indian Post Office Act 1898. The new Act establishes a modern regulatory framework covering spectrum management, licensing, OTT (over-the-top) service regulation, right of way for telecom infrastructure, and provisions for lawful interception of communications.
Key point: The Telecommunications Act 2023 brings OTT communication services (WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram) within the regulatory ambit for the first time. Telecom and technology law practitioners must advise clients on the implications of the new licensing and interception provisions. The Act also gives the government broad powers over spectrum allocation and digital communication infrastructure.
Parliament Passes CEC Appointment Act, Replaces SC-Mandated Process
Date: 21 December 2023
Parliament passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023, which replaces the Supreme Court's March 2023 judgment-mandated collegium process for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Under the new Act, appointments are made by a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister (Chair), the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM — replacing the Court's directive for a committee of PM, CJI, and Leader of Opposition.
Key point: The removal of the CJI from the appointment process and replacement with a government-nominated minister has drawn criticism as diluting the independence of the Election Commission. The Act is expected to face constitutional challenge. Electoral law practitioners should note the shift from a judicially-mandated to a legislatively-created appointment framework.
Also this week
- Parliament Winter Session concludes — The session ended on December 21, having enacted the most significant legislative output of any single session in recent memory: three criminal codes, the Telecommunications Act, the CEC Appointment Act, and several other laws.
- Mass MP suspensions — Over 140 Opposition MPs were suspended during the session, meaning the criminal law reform bills and other key legislation were passed with limited Opposition participation.
- SC winter recess begins — The Supreme Court commenced its annual winter recess from approximately December 22, to resume in the first working week of January 2024.
- BNS/BNSS/BSA implementation planning — With the July 1, 2024 effective date set, state police forces, Bar Councils, judicial academies, and law schools began planning for the transition to the new criminal codes.
- Year-end regulatory quiet — Regulatory bodies entered their year-end reduced activity phase, with no major circulars expected until January 2024.
By the numbers
- 163 years — Age of the Indian Penal Code (1860-2023) at the time of replacement
- 138 years — Age of the Indian Telegraph Act (1885-2023) at the time of replacement
- 140+ — Opposition MPs suspended during the Winter Session
- 3 — Criminal codes enacted to replace colonial-era statutes (BNS, BNSS, BSA)
- 1 July 2024 — Date when the new criminal codes come into force
Looking ahead
- January 2-5, 2024: Supreme Court resumes from winter recess
- January 3, 2024: Adani-Hindenburg final verdict expected
- January 31, 2024: RBI Paytm Payments Bank major action expected
- July 1, 2024: BNS, BNSS, BSA come into force — criminal justice system transformation
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 51 of 2023. For daily updates, visit our legal news page. Subscribe to receive this roundup every Monday morning.
Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.