The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

The BNS is the current general criminal code for offences and punishments under the new criminal-law framework.

About this law

An Act to consolidate and amend the provisions relating to offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Enacted

25 December 2023

Commenced

1 July 2024

Ceased / transition

Still current

Status

Current

Applicability

Effective from 1 July 2024 except section 106(2), which S.O. 850(E) expressly excluded; always check the statutory text, later notifications and applicable savings or transition rules.

Old and new law relationship

Instrument-level transitions are verified first. Section-to-section mappings are published separately because one old provision can split into several new provisions, or vice versa.

Preceded byfrom 1 July 2024

IPC

The BNS commenced on 1 July 2024 except section 106(2), which the commencement notification expressly excluded. The historic IPC remains relevant where savings or transition provisions apply.

Choose your reading lens

Citizen

Start with plain-language rights, duties, common situations and safe next steps; then open the dated official text.

Lawyer

Use the effective-date version, amendments, commencement material, cross-references and primary authorities.

Law student

Study the structure, key concepts, legislative history, provision crosswalks and leading interpretations.

Researcher

Use source provenance, version history, machine-readable relations and change events for reproducible research.

Versions and source state

Current official source

Valid 1 July 2024 onward

Full text verified

Complete section text imported from India Code and hash-verified. Provision correspondence is sourced separately from NCRB Sankalan.

Change timeline

1 July 2024

BNS commenced

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 except section 106(2), which S.O. 850(E) expressly excluded.