Important features of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

 1. The new Act is called as “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023” and has replaced the Penal Code, 1860.

2. The Chapters and offences against women and children, murder have been given precedence. Further, the offences against women and children which were scattered throughout in the erstwhile Penal Code, 1860 have been brought together and have been consolidated under Chapter-V. In the same manner, the offences affecting the human body are also brought up in the order and placed after the Chapter on offences against women and children.

3. BNS has been streamlined and it will now consist of only 358 Sections as opposed to 511 Sections in IPC, 1860.

4. All three incomplete category offences i.e. Attempt, Abetment and Conspiracy are brought together under one Chapter- IV of the BNS, 2023. Earlier these offences were part of different Chapters.

5. For the first time, ‘Community Service’ has been introduced as one of the punishments in Section 4 of the BNS, 2023. It has been specifically provided for 6 petty offences, like non-appearance in response to a proclamation, attempt to commit suicide to compel or restraint exercise of lawful power of public servant, petty theft on return of theft money, misconduct in public by a drunken person, defamation, etc. It introduces the reformative approach in the punishment scheme which is aimed towards achieving ‘nyaya’ in the society.

6. Abetment of an offence committed in India by a person outside India has now been made an offence under Section 48 of the BNS, 2023. This will criminalise the Acts of those persons who sit outside India and conspire to commit an offence in India.

7. A new offence for having sexual intercourse on false promise of marriage, employment, promotion or by suppressing the identity etc. has been created in Section 69 of the BNS, 2023. This provision will be a deterrent for the people who employ deceitful means like false promise of marriage, concealment of identity etc. to take consent of the woman and involve in sexual intercourse. It aims to protect the rights of women.

8. Offence of ‘snatching’ has been introduced in the BNS, 2023. Till now, the offence of snatching was not present in the IPC, 1860 which led to a lot of discretion to police to either treat such cases as ‘theft’ or ‘robbery’.. Section 304 of BNS 2023 makes the act of snatching an offence in every part of the country which punishes act of forcible seizure or grabbing of movable property.

9. The age-based parameter for differential punishment for gang rape of a minor girl has been removed in the BNS, 2023 and now, Section 70(2) prescribes life imprisonment (till remainder of that person’s natural life) or death for gang rape of a woman below the age of 18 years.

10. Assault or use of criminal force towoman with intent to disrobe her and Voyeurism weremade gender neutral under Sections 76 and 77 of the BNS, 2023.

11. The act of hiring, employing, or engaging a child to commit an offence, is made a punishable offence under Section 95 of BNS 2023, which entails punishment of imprisonment of minimum seven years, extendable to ten years.

12. To tackle ‘organized crime’ and ‘terrorist acts, offence of organized crime and terrorist act have been added in the Sanhita with deterrent punishments. Sections 111 and 113 of the BNS 2023 punish the commission, attempt, abetment, conspiracy of organized crimes and terrorist acts respectively. Both the Sections also punish the act of being a member of any organized crime syndicate or terrorist organisation, harboring or concealing any person who committed any organized crime or terrorist act and the act of possessing any property derived or obtained from the commission of organized crime or terrorist act. Section 111 on organized crime takes care of various state laws enacted in this domain. Section 113 on terrorist act has been drafted on the lines of UAPA. It has also been provided that in case of the offence of terrorist act officer not below the rank of SP will decide whether to register a case under the provisions of BNS, 2023 or UAPA.

13. A new provision 117(3) has been introduced in the BNS, 2023 to provide stringent punishment for such acts of grievous hurt which results in persistent vegetative state or in permanent disability. If grievous hurt resulting in persistent vegetative state or in permanent disability, it will attract higher punishment of rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life (remainder of that person’s natural life) as against up to seven years imprisonment only for grievous hurt.

14. The offence relating to importation of a person from foreign country has been made gender neutral to cover both boys and girls in Section 141 of the BNS, 2023. It will protect the minor boys and girls from being used for the purposes of forced or seduced illicit intercourse.

15. The Section relating to sedition was misused and hence has been deleted. The constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression has been upheld and Section 124A of the IPC which puts a restriction on such right has been deleted in the BNS, 2023.

16. A new section on acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India has been added and made punishable under Section 152 in BNS, 2023. In this section, exciting or attempt to excite any of the acts mentioned hereinabove is made punishable with imprisonment extendable to seven years or imprisonment for life.

17. The offence of ‘attempt to commit suicide’ has been deleted in the BNS, 2023.This brings the law in line with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. A new Section 226 has been added in the BNS, 2023 to punish those who attempt to commit suicide with the intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power by a public servant.

18. The offence of mischief in Section 324 of BNS has been expanded and causing loss or damage to any property including the property of Government or Local Authority has been made punishable offence with imprisonment extendable up to one year, or with fine, or with both (as against just 6 months or with fine, or both for offence of mischief). In case of loss or damage is of more than 20,000 rupees but less than one lakh rupees the punishment is extended up to two years, or with fine, or with both. Where loss or damage is above one lakh rupees the punishment would be imprisonment extendable up to five years, or with fine, or with both.

19. A serious category of culpable homicide related to ‘lynching’ has been introduced in the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, 2023. A new provision has been introduced for offences under this category of ‘mob lynching’ in Section 103(2) of the BNS, 2023. Special categories have been created within the offence for murder and grievous hurt by ‘group of five or more persons’ on the grounds of the victim’s social profile, particularly his ‘race, caste or community’, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief and any other grounds without specifically using the term ‘mob lynching’, for which a punishment of a minimum seven years of mandatory imprisonment has been provided. In case of causing ‘grievous hurt’ by group of five or more persons on the ground of race, caste or community etc. the punishment is 7 years and fine.

20. In Section 106(1) on ‘causing death by rash or negligence act’ the punishment has been increased from 2 years to 5 years imprisonment. However, for medical practitioners the punishment will be 2 years.

22. The domain of offence of theft has been expanded to include theft of vehicle, theft from vehicle, theft of government property and theft of idol or icon from any place of worship. In Section 305 of the BNS, 2023 such thefts have been made punishable with punishment up to 7 years.

23. Section 303(2) of the BNS, 2023 presents a fine example of deterrence and reformative approach of punishment. On the one hand, for a second conviction of any person for theft, the Section prescribes a higher punishment up to 5 years with a mandatory minimum of 1 year, on the other hand where the value of stolen property is less than 5,000 rupees and the first-time offender restores the stolen property, the punishment of community service has only been prescribed.

24. The definition of ‘child’ and ‘transgender’ is included in Section 2 of the BNS, 2023. The definition of ‘movable property’ is revised to include tangible as well as intangible property. ‘Electronic and digital records’ is included in the definition of document.

25. In Section 197(1)(d) of BNS, the act of making or publishing false or misleading information which has tendency to jeopardise the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India has been made punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years or fine or both.

26. ‘Beggary’ has been introduced as a form of exploitation for trafficking and has been punishable in section 143 of the BNS, 2023.

27. In section 116 of the BNS, 2023 the number of days provided for the sufferer in severe bodily pain for the purpose of ‘grievous hurt’ has been reduced from ’20 days’ to ’15 days’. It is done keeping in view the advancement in the medical treatment which provides quicker recovery.

28. At many places the archaic expressions like ‘lunatic’, ‘insane’ and ‘idiot’ have been done away with. Colonial remnants like ‘British calendar’, ‘Queen’, ‘British India, ‘Justice of the peace’ etc. have been deleted.

29. Uniformity has been introduced in the use of expression ‘child’ throughout the BNS, 2023 which is achieved by replacing the expression ‘minor’ and ‘child under the age of eighteen years’ with the word ‘child’.

30. Fines in the IPC were very low ranging from Rs.10 to Rs. 1,000. Similarly, the punishments for various offences also needed rationalization. Hence, terms of imprisonment for 33 offences have been suitably enhanced, fines in 83 cases have been increased and mandatory minimum punishment has also been introduced in 23 many offences.