The new criminal codes: what BNS, BNSS and BSA change

Three new codes, one commencement date

With effect from 01.07.2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act.

Cases registered before that date continue under the old codes, while new cases proceed under the new ones. For some years, counsel and courts must work in both regimes at once, which makes identifying the correct provision the first practical step in any current matter.

Familiar offences, new numbers

Most offences carried over with their substance intact but their numbering changed. Murder is now punishable under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly Section 302 IPC), cheating under Section 318, criminal breach of trust under Section 316, and cruelty to a wife by her husband or his relatives under Sections 85 and 86 (formerly Section 498A IPC).

What actually changed

The more significant changes are procedural. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita formalises the Zero FIR and electronic registration of complaints, builds in timelines, and expands the use of audio-video recording in investigation. On the evidence side, Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam carries forward and tightens the rules on electronic records that previously sat in Section 65B of the Evidence Act.

The protections the courts had already built around arrest and bail continue to apply. The direction in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar against automatic arrest in offences carrying under seven years, and the bail principles restated in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI, remain good law under the corresponding provisions of the new code.