CORPORATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 2013 AND BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA: AN OVERLAPPING JURISDICTION?
AUTHOR – LEKSHMI KRISHNA, ATHIRARAJ & PRAVEEN KUMAR S
STUDENTS AT CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF TAMILNADU
BEST CITATION – LEKSHMI KRISHNA, ATHIRARAJ & PRAVEEN KUMAR S, CORPORATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 2013 AND BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA: AN OVERLAPPING JURISDICTION?, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (14) OF 2025, PG. 170-174, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
Abstract
Corporate criminal liability has become an essential element in modern legal systems, as corporations increasingly exert influence in economic, social and political spheres. In India, the Companies Act, 2013 provides a detailed framework for determining criminal liability for corporate actions. It provides legal liability for violations of law such as fraud, wrongful termination and non-compliance by corporate entities and their officers. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) has now been enacted. It amends the Indian Penal Code, 1860, raising new questions – how corporations are included in the general criminal law. This paper examines the jurisdictional overlap when transferring corporate criminal conduct using the Companies Act and the BNS. Through a doctrinal analysis, the conceptual foundations of corporate liability, several legal frameworks, their specific possibilities, and similar trends from the UK and the USA are also examined. “The confusion between specific laws and general laws, competition, integration, and duplication exist. This calls for harmonization of enforcement and liability principles, as well as ensuring legal justice and corporate responsibility.”
Keywords: Corporate Criminal Liability, Companies Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Overlapping Jurisdiction, Corporate.