Superseded Byfrom 1 July 2024
BNS 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.
All Indian laws
Historical · savings may applycode · central-act-45-of-1860
IPC
The Indian Penal Code, 1860
The IPC is the historical general criminal code that preceded the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Date and savings warning
Do not assume the IPC is irrelevant after 1 July 2024; determine the date of conduct and the applicable savings provisions.
About this law
A general penal code defining offences and punishments under the former criminal-law framework.
Enacted
6 October 1860
Commenced
6 October 1860
Ceased / transition
30 June 2024
Status
Historical With Savings
Applicability
It remains important for conduct and proceedings governed by the prior law and applicable savings or transition provisions.
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.
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
Historical official source
Valid 6 October 1860 to 30 June 2024
Instrument metadata is verified. Exact provision-level text import and hash verification are tracked separately.