This week in Indian law: India's three new criminal statutes — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing the colonial-era IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act. This is the most comprehensive overhaul of India's criminal justice framework since independence. 10 significant legal developments this week across criminal law and legislative policy.
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India's Three New Criminal Laws Take Effect From July 1, 2024
Category: criminal-law | Date: 1 July 2024 | Source: Gazette of India
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing the Indian Penal Code (1860), Code of Criminal Procedure (1973), and Indian Evidence Act (1872). The three Acts received Presidential assent in December 2023 following passage by both Houses of Parliament, with July 1 notified as the appointed date through gazette notifications issued on February 23, 2024.
Why it matters: Every criminal law practitioner, police officer, prosecutor, and judge must now operate under a fundamentally restructured framework. The six-month implementation window has ended, and the dual regime — old laws for pre-July 1 offences, new laws for subsequent cases — will persist for years.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Court judgments
No landmark Supreme Court or High Court judgments were delivered during the first week of July 2024. The courts were in regular session but the week was dominated by the criminal law transition.
Legislative and policy developments
BNS Introduces New Offence Categories
Date: 1 July 2024
The BNS (358 sections, replacing IPC's 511) introduces community service as a sentencing option, creates new offences for organised crime, terrorism, and mob lynching, and replaces sedition under Section 124A IPC with a broader provision on acts endangering sovereignty under Section 152 BNS.
Key point: Sexual offences against women are consolidated with enhanced penalties, and the section numbering between old and new statutes is not straightforward — practitioners need comprehensive mapping guides.
BNSS Mandates Videography and Zero FIR
Date: 1 July 2024
The BNSS (531 sections) mandates videography of all search and seizure operations, introduces zero FIR allowing complaints at any police station regardless of jurisdiction, requires mandatory forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven or more years, and permits electronic summons and service of process.
Key point: The mandatory forensic investigation requirement for serious offences will strain existing forensic laboratory capacity and likely shape early judicial interpretation of compliance timelines.
BSA Overhauls Electronic Evidence Framework
Date: 1 July 2024
The BSA provides a comprehensive framework for admissibility of electronic evidence, recognises electronic and digital records as primary evidence, and expands expert opinion provisions to include digital evidence specialists.
Key point: The elevation of electronic records from secondary to primary evidence status under BSA removes a significant procedural hurdle that had complicated digital evidence admissibility under the old Evidence Act.
Regulatory updates
No major regulatory circulars were issued during this week. Parliament had not yet convened for the Budget Session (commenced July 22).
Also this week
- Dual criminal law regime begins operation — Pre-July 1 offences continue under IPC/CrPC/Evidence Act while new cases fall under BNS/BNSS/BSA, creating parallel procedural tracks in courts.
- State readiness concerns persist — Multiple state bar associations flagged inadequate training of police personnel and judicial officers on new criminal code provisions.
- 90-day charge-framing deadline now operative — BNSS requires charges to be framed within 90 days from charge sheet filing, creating a binding procedural timeline.
- Community service sentencing available — For the first time in Indian criminal law, courts can impose community service as punishment for specified minor offences under BNS.
By the numbers
- 358 — Sections in the BNS, replacing the IPC's 511 sections
- 531 — Sections in the BNSS, replacing the CrPC's 484 sections
- 170 — Sections in the BSA, replacing the Evidence Act's 167 sections
Looking ahead
- July 22: Budget Session of Parliament commences — Union Budget 2024-25 to be presented on July 23
- July 25: Supreme Court 9-judge Constitution Bench to deliver the mineral rights judgment
- Early implementation: First test cases under BNS/BNSS expected as courts and police adapt to new procedural requirements
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 27 of 2024. 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.