RECASTING CRIMINAL LAW IN INDIA: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF SUBSTANTIVE REFORMS UNDER THE BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA
AUTHOR – AASTHA, STUDENT AT SHAMBHUNATH INSTITUTE OF LAW, PRAYAGRAJ
BEST CITATION – AASTHA, RECASTING CRIMINAL LAW IN INDIA: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF SUBSTANTIVE REFORMS UNDER THE BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (1) OF 2026, PG. 480-486, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) is a landmark in the history of Indian law. It replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 of colonial era that had been in force governing criminal law in excess of 160 years.
BNS came into actions on 25 December 2023 and became effective on 1 July 2024. The reform seeks to decolonise the criminal justice system in addition to dealing with the contemporary problems like cybercrime, terrorism, and organized crime. The BNS introduced substantive changes that are critically constructive because of this paper. It examines institutional changes, new crimes, stiffer punishment, and victim-centered strategies.
The main innovations were the community service as a sentence, consideration of transgender members, the inclusion of digital evidence, and special chapters on crimes related to women and children. There are also major criticisms in the study. The critics observe that 80 per cent of the IPC is still not enforced, definitions are broad and can cause arbitrary application, cybercrime laws are limited and there are still difficulties in implementing them.
To sum up, although BNS is a significant process toward modernization, its transformative capacity does not have enough possibilities due to its structural continuity with IPC. The achievement of its goals will have to be accompanied by strong enforcement systems, judicial interpretation, and structural changes in policing and investigation.
KEYWORDS – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Criminal Law Reform, Indian Penal Code, Decolonization, Substantive Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Terrorism, Organized Crime, Community Service, Women and Child Protection, Digital Evidence, Legislative Reforms