From IPC to BNS: What the New Criminal Codes Change for Litigants

On 1 July 2024, three new statutes — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) — replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act respectively. For a client facing a criminal matter, or considering filing one, the honest answer to "what changes" is: less than the renaming suggests in terms of core offences, but more than it might appear in terms of procedure, timelines, and the use of technology in investigation.

Continuity in Substance, Change in Structure

Most offences under the BNS retain the same conceptual core as their IPC predecessors, but the sections have been renumbered and reorganised, and several provisions previously scattered across special statutes have been consolidated into the main code — including, for instance, provisions addressing organised crime and terrorist acts. New forms of offence have also been recognised, and community service has been introduced as a sentencing option for certain minor offences, reflecting a shift toward proportionate rather than purely custodial responses for low-level infractions.

A Stronger Emphasis on Timelines

The BNSS leans heavily toward defined timelines at almost every stage of a criminal case — from the framing of charges, to the recording of evidence, to the pronouncement of judgment once arguments have concluded. The intent is unmistakable: to give trial courts statutory pressure points that push cases toward conclusion rather than indefinite adjournment. Whether this translates into faster trials at scale will depend on court infrastructure and case load as much as the text of the statute, but for litigants and counsel, it does mean procedural timelines are now something to actively track and enforce, not merely aspirational.

Forensics and Electronic Evidence Move to the Centre

The new framework places far greater weight on forensic investigation and the documentation of the investigation process itself — mandating forensic examination for more serious categories of offence and encouraging audio-video recording of search and seizure. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam correspondingly expands the treatment of electronic and digital records as primary evidence, aligning the evidentiary framework with how evidence actually exists today rather than treating electronic material as a secondary or derivative form of proof.

Zero FIR and Access to the System

The BNSS formalises the practice of the Zero FIR — allowing a complainant to lodge an FIR at any police station regardless of where the offence occurred, with the station then obligated to transfer it to the one with territorial jurisdiction — and provides for electronic filing of complaints. For a complainant, this closes off a common practical obstacle: a police station's refusal to register a complaint on the ground that the offence occurred outside its jurisdiction.

How the Transition Actually Works

A question we hear often is which code applies to a given matter. As a rule, offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue to be investigated and tried under the old framework — the IPC and CrPC — by virtue of the savings clauses in the new statutes, while offences after that date fall under the BNS and BNSS. For the next several years, criminal practice in India will involve both frameworks running in parallel, which makes it important to identify, at the very outset of any matter, which code actually governs it.