Three laws passed in December 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing the colonial-era codes: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) replaced the Indian Penal Code 1860; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973; and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Crimes committed before 1 July 2024 continue to be tried under the old laws.
Quick check: The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced which law?
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Answer: D.
2023
What Is New in the BNS
Offences added and dropped
The BNS introduced or separately defined offences such as organised crime (Section 111), petty organised crime (Section 112), terrorist acts (Section 113), mob lynching (murder by a group of five or more on grounds such as caste or religion, Section 103(2)), snatching (Section 304) and sexual intercourse by deceitful means including a false promise of marriage (Section 69). It introduced community service as a punishment for some petty offences, dropped the offence of adultery and Section 377 (unnatural offences), and replaced sedition with Section 152.
Community service introduced as a punishment.
Mob lynching: Section 103(2).
Quick check: Which new form of punishment did the BNS introduce for certain petty offences?
Flogging
Exile
House arrest
Community service
Answer: D.
2023
What Is New in the BNSS
Procedure for the digital age
The BNSS allows zero FIRs and e-FIRs (Section 173), requires videography of searches and seizures, mandates forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven years or more, sets timelines for investigation and judgments, permits trial in absentia of proclaimed offenders (Section 356), allows police custody of up to 15 days to be taken in parts during the first 40 or 60 days of detention (Section 187), and provides for release of first-time undertrials after one-third of the maximum sentence (Section 479).
Forensic investigation mandatory for offences punishable with seven years or more.
Trial in absentia: Section 356.
Quick check: Under the BNSS, forensic investigation is mandatory for offences punishable with imprisonment of:
Ten years or more
Life or death only
Three years or more
Seven years or more
Answer: D.
2023
What Is New in the BSA
Electronic evidence
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam treats electronic and digital records as documents and primary evidence, and requires a certificate for electronic records under Section 63 (formerly Section 65B of the Evidence Act, as interpreted in Anvar P.V. (2014) and Arjun Panditrao Khotkar (2020)). Most of the structure of Stephen's Evidence Act survives.
Section 63 BSA corresponds to Section 65B of the old Act.
1955–1956
The Hindu Code Bills
Reforming Hindu personal law
After Ambedkar's comprehensive Hindu Code Bill stalled in 1951, Parliament enacted its substance in four laws: the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (monogamy and divorce), the Hindu Succession Act 1956, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956. They apply to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
Four Acts, 1955–56.
Apply to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
Quick check: Which of these is NOT one of the Hindu Code laws of 1955–56?
Hindu Succession Act
Hindu Marriage Act
Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act
Special Marriage Act
Answer: D.
26 more entries under this heading
Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 · Daughters become coparceners
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 · Marriage beyond religion
Muslim Personal Law Statutes · Shariat, dissolution and triple talaq
Christian and Parsi Marriage Laws · Older personal statutes
The Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand · The first after independence
The Indian Contract Act, 1872 · Still in force
The Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018 · Specific performance becomes the rule
The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 · Sales, mortgages, leases and gifts
The Limitation Act, 1963 · Time bars the remedy
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 · Based on the UNCITRAL Model Law
The Companies Act, 2013 · Mandatory CSR
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 · A time-bound insolvency process
The Right to Information Act, 2005 · Transparency by law
The POSH Act, 2013 · Sexual harassment at the workplace
The POCSO Act, 2012 · Protecting children from sexual offences
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 · Civil remedies at home
The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 · Protecting Dalits and Adivasis
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 · The umbrella law
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 · 21 disabilities
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 · India's data protection law
The Four Labour Codes · 29 laws into four
The Telecommunications Act and Post Office Act, 2023 · Colonial laws replaced
The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 · Four old laws in one
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 · Money games banned
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 · UMEED
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 · CAA
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