BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), 2023

What is BNS?

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Indian Justice Code, 2023) is India’s new criminal code that officially replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 as of July 1, 2024. It reorganizes, renames, and enhances several criminal provisions to align with modern legal needs.

Why is IPC being replaced?

• IPC had become cluttered from piecemeal amendments over 160+ years.
• BNS consolidates and updates sections—some repealed, many merged, others strengthened.
• It introduces new offences (e.g., organised crime, mob lynching, hit-and-run) and removes provisions deemed obsolete or decriminalized by judicial rulings.

When did it come into effect?

• Passed in December 2023, enacted on December 25, 2023, and became operational on July 1, 2024.

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IPC to BNS Mapping: Sections 1 – 50

Below is the tabular mapping for IPC Sections 1–50. This will form the template—subsequent parts will continue up to Section 511.

IPC Section	IPC Title	BNS Section	BNS Title	Notes/Changes
1	Title and extent of operation of the Code	1(1)	Short title, commencement and application	“Code” replaced with “Sanhita”
2	Punishment of offences committed within India	1(3)	Short title, commencement and application	Integrated under Section 1(3)
3	Punishment outside India	1(4)	Short title, commencement and application	Grouped under general commencement
4–5	Territorial extent, other laws unaffected	1(5)–1(6)	Same	Incorporated in BNS Section 1
6	Definitions exceptions	Chapter III	General explanations and exceptions	IPC Section 6 vocabulary split into BNS Sections 2 & 3
7–13	Definitions of acts, omissions, multiple actors	2(1)–2(9), 3(4)–3(8)	Definitions; General explanations	Expanded, including electronic records
14–16	“Servant of Government” etc.	Deleted	—	Transitional public servant category, removed in BNS
17–20	Definitions: government, India, judge, court	2(12),2(18),2(16),2(5)	Added under BNS definitions	No removal
21	“Public servant”	2(28)	Public servant	Terminology updated
22–33	Movable property, wrongful gain, omissions	2(21)–2(39)	Definitions (expanded)	Added “electronic record”, reorganised
34–38	Common intention	3(5)–3(9)	General explanations	Reorganized into BNS Chapter III
39–41	Voluntarily, Offence, Special law	2(33)–2(30)	Definitions	No functional change
42–50	Local law, section, oath, stamp-related definitions	2(18),—,2(23),2(4),2(13)	Partially integrated	“Section” (50) deleted, oath added, stamp definitions revised
50	“Section”	Deleted	—	Consolidated terminology

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Technical Highlights (Sections 1–50)

• Chapter I & III Consolidation: BNS merges chapters on definitions and general explanations into a more logical structure.
• Terminology Standardized: “Code” → “Sanhita”, “Section” removed, replaced with internal cross-references.
• New content: Sections for electronic records, gender and public servant definitions updated.
• Removed: Antiquated terms like “Servant of Government” are cleaned up

IPC to BNS Section Mapping: Sections 51 – 511

IPC Section	IPC Title	BNS Section	BNS Title	Notes/Changes
51	Exceptions to definition of public servant	Deleted	—	Merged under Section 2(28) of BNS
52	“Good faith”	2(18)	Good faith	Reworded in BNS
52A	“Harbour”	2(19)	Harbour	No change
53	Punishments	4(1)	Punishments	BNS introduces community service as new form
53A	Construction of references to transportation	Deleted	—	Obsolete concept removed
54–55A	Commutation of sentence	4(5)–4(6)	Powers to remit, suspend, commute	Rephrased
56–58	Removed	—	—	Transportation for life replaced with imprisonment for life
59–75	Enhanced punishment for repeat offenders, definitions	4(4), 4(7)	Repeat offences	Terminology updated
76–106	General Exceptions (Mistake, accident, insanity, etc.)	14–33	General exceptions	Reorganized as BNS Chapter IV
107–120	Abetment	44–53	Abetment	Direct mapping
120A–B	Criminal Conspiracy	61–62	Criminal conspiracy	Same sections
121–130	Waging war, sedition, etc.	153–162	Offences against the state	Sedition (IPC 124A) replaced with Section 161: Acts endangering sovereignty
131–140	Armed forces mutiny	163–170	Armed forces-related offences	Renamed but similar structure
141–160	Unlawful assembly, riots	171–183	Offences against public order	Language simplified; mob lynching added
161–165A	Public servant bribery	Repealed	—	Now covered under Prevention of Corruption Act
166–176	Public servant failure	187–192	Offences by public servants	Direct mapping
177–229	False evidence, contempt	193–219	Offences against public justice	Several merged
230–263A	Counterfeiting	220–234	Coin and currency-related offences	Retained, with updates
264–267	Weights and measures fraud	235–238	Fraud in trade	Merged into commercial fraud provisions
268–294	Public nuisance, obscenity	239–253	Offences affecting public health and decency	Section 294 (Obscene acts) reworded
295–298	Religious offence	254–257	Offences relating to religion	Minor wording changes
299–311	Culpable homicide, murder, attempt	103–112	Homicide and related offences	Section 302 (murder) becomes Section 103
312–318	Abortion, miscarriage	113–117	Offences affecting unborn child	Slight renumbering
319–338	Hurt, grievous hurt	118–132	Causing hurt	Section 326A/326B merged
339–348	Wrongful restraint and confinement	133–139	Wrongful restraint/confinement	Directly ported
349–358	Force, assault	140–144	Use of force and assault	Definitions clarified
359–374	Kidnapping, slavery, human trafficking	145–152	Kidnapping and exploitation	Expanded to include trafficking and slavery
375–376E	Rape and sexual offences	63–70	Sexual offences	BNS strengthens definitions (consent, stalking, marital rape context under 70)
377	Unnatural offences	Deleted	—	Decriminalized as per SC ruling (Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India)
378–382	Theft	303–307	Theft	Renumbered
383–389	Extortion	308–312	Extortion	Renumbered
390–402	Robbery, dacoity	313–319	Robbery and dacoity	Dacoity under BNS 318
403–414	Criminal misappropriation, breach of trust	320–329	Criminal breach of trust	Bank/employee added explicitly
415–420	Cheating	330–335	Cheating	Clarified with electronic fraud
421–424	Dishonest removal of property	336–338	Removal of property	Mostly renamed
425–440	Mischief	339–351	Mischief	Retained
441–462	Criminal trespass	352–361	Criminal trespass	Directly mapped
463–477A	Forgery, false document	362–372	Forgery	Renamed
478–489	Removed/Repealed	—	—	Repealed long ago
489A–E	Counterfeit currency	373–377	Currency offences	Expanded
490–492	Removed	—	—	Historical removals
493–498	Marital fraud, adultery	69, 377	Deceitful marriage, cruelty	Adultery decriminalized
498A	Cruelty by husband/relatives	85	Cruelty by husband or relative	Retained
499–500	Defamation	354	Defamation	No change
501–502	Printing, false info	355–356	Publishing defamatory material	Retained
503–507	Criminal intimidation	357–359	Threats and criminal intimidation	Reworded
508–510	Miscellaneous	360–361	Miscellaneous	Rewritten
511	Attempt to commit offences	61	Attempt	General attempt now under Section 61

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Key BNS Additions Not Present in IPC

BNS Section	Title	Purpose
113	Hit-and-run	Strict liability offence for drivers who flee accident scene
111	Mob lynching	New provision for collective assault causing death
73	Sexual exploitation under false marriage	Protects women from deceitful cohabitation
43	Organised crime	Covers gangs, cyber syndicates
47	Terrorism	Expanded definition; not present in IPC
86	Community service	Introduced as punishment for petty offences

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FAQ: BNS vs IPC

When will IPC be fully replaced?

July 1, 2024 – All trials and FIRs after this date follow BNS, BNSS, and BSA.

Are BNS laws stricter than IPC?

Yes, in many areas:

• Faster trials with digital summons
• No bail for hit-and-run
• More clarity in cyber, mob, terrorism, and trafficking laws

How should lawyers/students prepare?

• Refer to comparative tables from MHA or legal publishers
• Read bare acts of BNS, BNSS, BSA
• Solve mock questions using new section numbers
• Track landmark rulings interpreting BNS sections

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