Why You Must Relearn Criminal Law: What Changed Under BNS, BNSS and BSA

On 1 July 2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act. Almost every section number changed, and the new codes added offences such as organised crime (s.111 BNS) and terrorist act (s.113 BNS), made community service a punishment (s.4(f) BNS), recognised zero FIR and e-FIR (s.173 BNSS), set trial timelines, and tightened rules for electronic evidence (s.63 BSA). Anyone who works with criminal law, or simply wants to know their rights, has to relearn it.

What actually changed on 1 July 2024

The new codes keep much of the old law’s substance, but the changes are large enough that relying on memory of the IPC and CrPC now causes real mistakes.

• Renumbering everywhere. Murder is s.103 BNS, not s.302. FIR is s.173 BNSS, not s.154. Anticipatory bail is s.482 BNSS, not s.438. Maintenance is s.144 BNSS, not s.125. The IPC to BNS table, CrPC to BNSS table and Evidence Act to BSA table are useful references.
• Organised crime (s.111 BNS) and petty organised crime (s.112 BNS). These were earlier handled mostly under state laws such as MCOCA; now the general criminal code defines and punishes them.
• Terrorist act (s.113 BNS). Terrorism now has a definition in the general penal code, alongside special laws like UAPA.
• Murder by a group on discriminatory grounds (s.103(2) BNS). Where five or more persons acting in concert commit murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any similar ground, each member is liable. This is the provision commonly described as the mob lynching offence.
• Snatching (s.304 BNS) is now a separate offence.
• Community service as a punishment (s.4(f) BNS). It is available for a few minor offences: for example, first-time theft of property worth less than ₹5,000 where the property is returned (s.303(2)), and defamation (s.356(2)). BNSS s.23 explains it as unpaid work benefiting the community.

Procedure and evidence: the changes practitioners feel daily

• Zero FIR and e-FIR (s.173 BNSS). Information can be given orally or electronically “irrespective of the area where the offence is committed”. An e-FIR must be signed by the informant within three days. The informant gets a free copy.
• Preliminary enquiry. For offences punishable with 3 years or more but less than 7 years, police may hold a preliminary enquiry, with permission of an officer not below DSP rank, to be completed within 14 days (s.173(3)).
• Timelines. Informant or victim to be told the progress of investigation within 90 days (s.193(3)(ii)). Documents to the accused within 14 days (s.230). Charge to be framed within 60 days from the first hearing on charge (ss.251 and 263). Judgment within 30 days of arguments, extendable to 45 days for recorded reasons (s.258).
• Forensics. For offences punishable with 7 years or more, a forensic expert must visit the crime scene and collection must be videographed (s.176(3)), from the date each State notifies, within five years.
• Trial in absentia (s.356 BNSS) for proclaimed offenders who abscond.
• Electronic evidence (s.63 BSA). Electronic records offered as evidence need a certificate in the form given in the Schedule to the Act, which includes disclosure of the record’s hash value and certification by an expert (Part B). In Pune Bar Association v. Union of India (2026), the Supreme Court upheld the certificate requirement in s.63(4), describing a hash value as an electronic fingerprint.

Old cases still run under the old law

The changeover was not a clean break. Section 531 BNSS repeals the CrPC but saves pending matters: if any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation was pending immediately before 1 July 2024, it is disposed of under the CrPC as if the BNSS had not come into force. Offences committed before 1 July 2024 are tried for the IPC offence, because a person cannot be punished under a law that did not exist when the act was done (Article 20(1) of the Constitution).

So for years to come, a lawyer in Lucknow may argue a 2023 dowry death case under the IPC and CrPC in the morning and a 2025 cheating case under the BNS and BNSS in the afternoon. High Courts have differed on some transition questions, such as which law applies to applications filed after 1 July 2024 in older cases. You need to know both sets of numbers and when each applies.

Who needs to relearn criminal law

• LL.B. students, whose semester exams and moots now use the new codes, while the case law they read still cites the IPC and CrPC.
• Judiciary and APO aspirants: state judicial service and prosecution exams now test BNS, BNSS and BSA sections directly.
• Practising advocates, for drafting bail applications, complaints and replies with the correct sections.
• Police officers and staff, who register FIRs, prepare arrest memos and collect electronic evidence under the new procedure.
• Journalists, who must report charges correctly; writing “booked under s.302” for a 2025 murder is now an error.
• Citizens, who benefit from knowing zero FIR, e-FIR and their rights on arrest. See how to file an FIR, zero FIR and e-FIR.

How to relearn efficiently

1. Start with a conversion table and learn the 50 most used sections by heart in both numbers.
2. Read the genuinely new provisions (ss.111, 112, 113, 103(2), 304 and 4(f) BNS; ss.173, 176(3), 193, 356 and 531 BNSS; s.63 BSA) from the bare Act.
3. Follow Supreme Court and High Court rulings on the transition and on s.63 BSA.
4. Practise by redrafting an old FIR or bail application with the new sections.

A structured route is the New Criminal Laws certificate course. It is a certificate of completion from Lexfolio, not a degree or a licence to practise.

Frequently asked questions

Is the IPC completely gone?

The IPC is repealed for offences committed on or after 1 July 2024. Offences committed earlier are still charged and tried under the IPC.

Which section replaced s.302 IPC?

Section 103(1) BNS punishes murder. Section 103(2) deals with murder by a group of five or more on discriminatory grounds.

Is zero FIR new?

Courts had accepted it earlier, but s.173(1) BNSS now expressly allows information to be given irrespective of where the offence was committed.

Does a WhatsApp chat need a certificate in court?

Electronic records produced as evidence generally need the s.63 BSA certificate in the prescribed Schedule form.

What happens to a case pending in June 2024?

Under s.531(2)(a) BNSS, pending appeals, applications, trials, inquiries and investigations continue under the CrPC.

Quick quiz

Sources

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: ss.4(f), 103, 111, 112, 113, 303(2), 304, 356(2)
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: ss.23, 173, 176(3), 193, 230, 251, 258, 263, 356, 531
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: s.63 and the Schedule
• Constitution of India: Article 20(1)
• Pune Bar Association v. Union of India, Supreme Court, 22 May 2026

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.