Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (IAST: Bhāratīya Nyāya Saṃhitā; lit. 'Indian Justice Code') is the official criminal code in the Republic of India. It came into effect on 1 July, 2024 after being passed by the parliament in December 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which dated back to the period of British India.

Background and timeline

 * On 11 August 2023, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha.
 * On 12 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 was withdrawn.
 * On 12 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha.
 * On 20 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 was passed in Lok Sabha.
 * On 21 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita bill, 2023 was passed in Rajya Sabha.
 * On 25 December 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill, 2023 received the assent of the President of India.

Changes
In the BNS, 20 new offences have been added to and 19 provisions in the repealed IPC have been dropped. The punishment of imprisonment has been increased for 33 offences, and fines have been increased for 83 offences. A mandatory minimum punishment has been introduced for 23 offences. A sentence of community service has been introduced for six offences.


 * Offences against the body: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on murder, abetment of suicide, assault and causing grievous hurt. It adds new offences such as organised crime, terrorism, and murder or grievous hurt by a group on certain grounds.
 * Sexual offences against women: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on rape, voyeurism, stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman. It increases the threshold for the victim to be classified as an adult, in the case of gang rape, from 16 to 18 years of age.
 * Offences against property: The BNS retains the provisions of the IPC on theft, robbery, burglary and cheating. It adds new offences such as cybercrime and financial fraud.
 * Offences against the state: The BNS removes sedition as an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity.
 * Offences against the public: The BNS adds new offences such as environmental pollution and human trafficking.

Criticism
Like Indian Penal Code, the BNS retains the marital rape exception. It retains the value laden phrase ‘outraging the modesty of women’ instead of replacing it with the gender-neutral term ‘sexual assault’. It provides inadequate protection to victims of non-consensual intimate imagery. It does not include any provision for offences involving rape of males or of transgender individuals.

Provision for offence for acts endangering ‘sovereignty or unity and integrity of India’, is ambiguous, with the potential to curtail freedom of speech or to stifle dissent.

Structure
The BNS comprises 20 chapters and 358 sections. Its structure is similar to that of the IPC. The outline of the Sanhita is as follows: