The upcoming changes to the criminal laws set to take effect on July 1 are expected to bring about significant reforms in the country's criminal justice system. The introduction of the three newly-enacted laws – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) – will replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act.
The BNS will have 358 sections compared to the IPC's 511, the BNSS will have 531 sections compared to the CrPC's 484, and the BSA will have 170 sections compared to the Indian Evidence Act's 166. These changes are anticipated to have a profound impact on the legal landscape of the country.
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It has been recently announced that several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been renumbered and recategorized. For instance, Section 302, which previously dealt with the punishment for murder, will now be reclassified as Section 101, and it will now cover the crime of snatching. Additionally, Section 420 of the IPC, which addressed the offence of cheating, is no longer applicable, as cheating will now fall under Section 318.
Furthermore, sections related to unlawful assembly, waging war, defamation, rape, sedition, criminal conspiracy, rioting, and other offences have also been reclassified under the new law. These changes indicate a significant overhaul in the way criminal offences are categorized and addressed under the Indian Penal Code.
