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Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

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Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
Parliament of India
  • An Act to consolidate and amend the provisions relating to offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
CitationAct No. 45 of 2023
Territorial extent India
Passed byLok Sabha
Passed20 December 2023
Passed byRajya Sabha
Passed21 December 2023
Assented to byDroupadi Murmu (President of India)
Assented to25 December 2023
Commenced1 July 2024
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill titleThe Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023
Bill citationBill No. 173 of 2023
Introduced byAmit Shah (Home Minister)
Introduced12 December 2023
Committee responsibleParliamentary Standing Committee
Passed20 December 2023
Voting summary
  • Majority Voice voted for
  • Minority Voice voted against
Second chamber: Rajya Sabha
Bill titleThe Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023
Received from the Lok Sabha20 December 2023
Member(s) in chargeAmit Shah (Home Minister)
Passed21 December 2023
Voting summary
  • Majority Voice voted for
  • Minority Voice voted against
Final stages
Finally passed both chambers21 December 2023
Repeals
Indian Penal Code
Related legislation
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
Summary
The bill seeks to replace the entire Indian Penal Code and to provide a new approach for penalties and punishments for crimes defined under a new pattern.
Status: In force

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (IAST: Bhāratīya Nyāya Saṃhitā; lit. 'Indian Justice Code') is the official criminal code in India. It came into effect on 1 July, 2024 after being passed by the parliament in December 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Background and timeline

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  • On 11 August 2023, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha.
  • On 12 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 was withdrawn.
  • On 12 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha.[1]
  • On 20 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 was passed in Lok Sabha.[2]
  • On 21 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita bill, 2023 was passed in Rajya Sabha.
  • On 25 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 received the assent of the President of India.[3]

Changes

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In the BNS, 20 new offences have been added to and 19 provisions in the repealed IPC have been dropped. The punishment of imprisonment has been increased for 33 offences, and fines have been increased for 83 offences. A mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced for 23 offences. A sentence of community service has been introduced for six offences.[4]

  • Offences against the body: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on murder, abetment of suicide, assault and causing grievous hurt. It adds new offences such as organised crime, terrorism, and murder or grievous hurt by a group on certain grounds.
  • Sexual offences against women: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on rape, voyeurism, stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman. It increases the threshold for the victim to be classified as an adult, in the case of gang rape, from 16 to 18 years of age.
  • Offences against property: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on theft, robbery, burglary and cheating. It adds new offences such as cybercrime and financial fraud.
  • Offences against the state: The BNS removes sedition as an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity.
  • Offences against the public: The BNS adds new offences such as environmental pollution and human trafficking.[5]

Debate

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Like Indian Penal Code, the BNS retains the marital rape exception. It retains the value laden phrase ‘outraging the modesty of women’ instead of replacing it with the gender-neutral term ‘sexual assault’.[6] It provides inadequate protection to victims of non-consensual intimate imagery.[7] It does not include any provision for offences involving rape of males or of transgender individuals.[8]

Provision for offence for acts endangering ‘sovereignty or unity and integrity of India’, is ambiguous, with the potential to curtail freedom of speech or to stifle dissent.[6][9]

Assistant professor Faisal Fasih from West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences argued that Extensive power is given to the state or the police. It is not in conformity with the advertisement for making the laws. One may wonder how can penal codes be justice-oriented, these are about penal provisions said by [10]

Structure

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The BNS comprises 20 chapters and 358 sections. Its structure is similar to that of the IPC. The outline of the Sanhita is as follows:[11][12]

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Chapters Clauses Classification of Offences
Chapter 1 Clauses 1 to 3 Preliminary
Chapter 2 Clauses 4 to 13 Of Punishments
Chapter 3 Clauses 14 to 44 General Exceptions  

of the Right to Private Defence (sections 34 to 44)

Chapter 4 Clauses 45 to 62 Of Abetment, Criminal Conspiracy and Attempt
Chapter 5 Clauses 63 to 99 Of Offences against Women and Children
  • Of Sexual Offences (63 to 73)
  • Of criminal force and assault against women (74 to 79)
  • Of Offences relating to marriage (80 to 87)
  • Of causing miscarriage, etc. (88 to 99)
Chapter 6 Clauses 100 to 144 Of Offences Affecting the Human Body
  • Of Offences Affecting Life (100 to 113)
  • Of Hurt (114 to 125)
  • Of wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement (126 to 136)
  • Of Kidnapping, Abduction, Slavery and Forced Labour (137 to 146)
Chapter 7 Clauses 147 to 158 Of Offences Against the State
Chapter 8 Clauses 159 to 168 Of Offences Relating to the Army, Navy and Air Force
Chapter 9 Clauses 169 to 177 Of Offences Relating to Elections
Chapter 10 Clauses 178 to 188 Of Offences Relating to Coins, Bank Notes, Currency Notes and Government Stamps
Chapter 11 Clauses 189 to 197 Of Offences Against the Public Tranquility
Chapter 12 Clauses 198 to 205 Of Offences by Or Relating to Public Servants
Chapter 13 Clauses 206 to 226 Of Contempt of Lawful Authority of Public Servants
Chapter 14 Clauses 227 to 269 Of False Evidence and Offences against Public Justice.
Chapter 15 Clauses 270 to 297 Of Offences affecting the Public Health, Safety, Convince, Decency and Morals
Chapter 16 Clauses 298 to 302 Of Offences Relating to Religion
Chapter 17 Clauses 303 to 334 Of Offences against Property
  • Of Theft (303 to 307)
  • Of Extortion (308)
  • Of Robbery and Dacoity (309 to 313)
  • Of Criminal Misappropriation of Property (314 and 315)
  • Of Criminal Breach of Trust (316)
  • Of receiving of stolen property (317)
  • Of Cheating (318 and 319)
  • Of Fundamental Deeds and Disposition of Property (320 to 323)
  • Of Mischief (324 to 328)
  • Of Criminal Trespass (329 to 334)
Chapter 18 Clauses 335 to 350 Of Offences Relating to Documents and to Property Marks
  • Of Documents (335 to 344)
  • Of Property Marks (345 to 350)
Chapter 19 Clauses 351 to 356 Of Criminal Intimidation, Insult, Annoyance, Defamation, Etc
  • Intimidation, Insult and Annoyance (351 to 355)
  • Of Defamation (356)
  • Of breach of contract to attend on and supply wants of the helpless person (357)
Chapter 20 Clause 358 Repeal and Savings (358)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023". PRS Legislative Research. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. ^ "LS passes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill; Amit Shah says it focuses on justice rather than punishment". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  3. ^ Joy, Shemin. "Bills to replace criminal codes enacted into law as President Murmu gives nod". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  4. ^ News Desk, India (21 December 2023). "Explained: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the new IPC, and the concerns around it". Financial Express. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Explained: New crimes under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, and some grey areas". The Indian Express. 1 July 2024. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b Satish, Mrinal; Dash, Preeti Pratishruti; Pandey, Anushka (30 January 2024). "Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita: Decolonising or Reinforcing Colonial Ideas?". The Wire (India). Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ^ Vaibhav Yadav (12 October 2023). "Tackling Non-Consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images in India's Contemporary Legal Framework". International Annals of Criminology. 61 (3–4). Cambridge University Press: 355–383. doi:10.1017/cri.2023.30. ISSN 2398-676X.Closed access icon
  8. ^ Alisha Dutta (22 June 2024). "Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has no section dealing with rape of men, transgender persons". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  9. ^ Indira Jaising (17 June 2024). "With new criminal laws, rights won in Supreme Court can be overturned by government". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 July 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  10. ^ Juneja, Punit (23 July 2024). "BNS not seen as establishing justice-oriented system: Legal expert". Press Trust of India. Kolkata. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. ^ The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Archived 11 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine, PSR India, 10 August 2023
  12. ^ "The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Hindi), 2023". Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
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