The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,2023: Evaluating its impact on police and procedural reforms

Authored By: Manasvi Sharma

BDS School of Law, Meerut

ABSTRACT:

The BNS 2023 is the replacement code of the IPC 1860; it does not bring just substantive legal changes but fundamentally reshapes the police procedure of working, focuses on their work, and gives more power concerning the IPC 1860. The BNS,2023, has brought significant changes in judicial police cooperation, standardized SOP, and resource allocation to reduce the implementation gap, as we have seen in IPC, and make it more successful in their work. The code modernization will resolve Crucial conflicts.

The shift from the Indian Penal Code of 1860 to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita of 2023 is among the greatest legal reforms in India’s history since independence, not just a legislative revision but a radical rethinking of criminal justice in terms indigenous to the country. The IPC, a British colonial law written by Lord Macaulay and his Law Commission, acted in service to India for more than 163 years, reflecting the Victorian moral code and administrative preferences of British rule that tended to be more about the colonizers’ necessity to keep things in order than about bringing full justice to the Indian people. Although the IPC showed extraordinary longevity and was even embraced by several other Commonwealth countries, its origins in colonialism and outdated lexicon ever more became stumbling blocks to efficacious delivery of justice in contemporary India. The code’s focus on punitive measures rather than rehabilitation, its restricted identification with modern crimes, and its inability fully to take into account the sophisticated social dynamics of Indian society produced mounting pressure for sweeping reform.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which was enacted on 1st July, 2024, thus presents itself as an answer to these constraints but one which is rooted in the vision of an “Atmanirbhar” or independent judicial system that is in consonance with Indian ethos, social realities, and modern-day challenges. As compared to the 511 sections of IPC, BNS has 358 sections, which shows a more efficient style free of redundancies while incorporating new offenses that are applicable to the digital era and new Indian society. BNS makes substantial changes in dealing with cybercrimes by incorporating provisions for cyber fraud, identity theft, and cyber harassment, which acknowledges the fact that the narrow scope of IPC could not comprehend crimes that did not exist during the 19th century. The new code also reflects a more sophisticated appreciation of gender-based violence, with improved provisions relating to crimes against women and children, such as harsher punishment for rape, stalking, and domestic violence, but adding new categories of offenses such as mob lynching and terrorist activity that mirror the present-day social problems.

INTRODUCTION:

Structurally, the BNS rearranges criminal offenses in a more rational hierarchy, starting with offenses against the state and public order, then against the human body, property, and so on, with better clarity for legal professionals and law enforcement officials. The language of the BNS, being still legally precise, uses more commonly understandable language that makes the interpretative difficulties which often face the IPC’s antiquated Victorian language less likely. This linguistic updating also includes the inclusion of gender-neutral language where possible, indicative of changing social awareness regarding gender equality and respect. The BNS also inaugurates the idea of community service as a substitute for punishment for petty crimes, a transition toward restorative over absolute retributive justice, which is aligned with classical Indian philosophical strategies for conflict resolution and social harmony.

The punitive provisions of the BNS are both continuity and transformation, in that they maintain capital punishment for the most egregious offenses while adding life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for some serious crimes, offering courts increased sophistication in sentencing. The new code also increases penalties for offenses against vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, handicapped persons, and minority groups, evidence of an enhanced conception of social justice. Notably, the BNS has certain provisions related to communal violence and hate crimes, indicating the necessity of legal mechanisms that can tackle India’s complicated social and religious diversity without compromising national cohesion.

The BNS,2023, is the revolutionary replacement for the colonial code of IPC,1860, and it’s showing the supremacy of the Indian law system and its legislative role to replace the Britishers’ given law. The BNS seeks the upliftment of India’s criminal justice system, like

Victim centricity

Forensic rigor

Electronic evidence recording (section 185)

Zero FIR(section 173)

Time-bound investigation (section 193)

Forensic integration for serious crimes (section 176(3))

These changes made a huge impact on society and the working of the police, which gives more power to the police that is not present in the IPC. There is more police lack in jurisdictional conflicts, as in the case of Lalita Kumari vs Government of U.P.& Ors. AIR [2014] SUPREME COURT 187 But these things are not included or faced by the police in BNS. The BNS’s success depends on bridging the gap between institutional and statutory.

Some sections of the IPC are not included in BNS as they are unconstitutional in the eyes of the Indian judicial system, and the police are more accountable to the people, and unnecessary information is also received by them. All these types of small and big changes help them from all the perspectives of law and society that may effectively boost their work.

BODY:

As we already know that the BNS is a replaced the IPC because IPC is too old for the context of new independent India in terms of thinking, power, values, work etc. in everyday life of the police and some crimes are not specified in IPC that was further mentioned in BNS to make a complete code for Indian judicial system. The province where procedural reforms and police impacts are:

Zero FIR: The rule of IPC was widespread to refusal of FIR based on its jurisdiction because IPC bounds the officers to not conduct and activities outside there jurisdiction just like in case of Lalita Kumari vs State of Uttar Pradesh [2014], if you conduct any activity you need to take permission of that area officer then you proceed your proceedings. But this did not happen in BNS; BNS mandates all police stations, irrespective of their jurisdiction, to register a FIR in case of a cognizable offence within 15 days to submit to the area officer. It is convenient for the people also to register FIR, which helps them to work smoothly.

Digital Evidence Revolution: As we know that in IPC there were record of evidence by a manual process which leads to the tampering of evidence possible and that was created a huge impact in court proceeding and the trial of a person is now depends on the probability to convict or not as we know in the case of Vineet Kumar Chauhan vs State of Uttar Pradesh [2022] that the seizure and searches are recorded manually. But this concept is totally different in BNS; all the search and seizures must be recorded manually and electronically too, for checking on the basis of the need, which might help more in proceeding and for a speedy trial. But there is a problem that was shown in the NCRB(National Crime Records Bureau) 2023, which states that 60% of rural stations lack recording equipment. Supreme Court held in the case of Shafhi Mohammad vs State of Himachal Pradesh (2018), that the non-compliance of evidence puts at risk of being rejected in a court. Time Bound Investigation: In IPC, there are several loopholes while conducting the investigation by the police officers, and it was totally a waste of time in both the circumstances of Trial and investigation. There must be a delay of trial, and the court has nothing in hand because the case depends on information that is not available. In the case of Y. Balaji vs State of Telangana [2023], justice was postponed due to endless preliminary inquiries. While BNS is made to help in a huge responsibility, BNS has strict guidelines that a Preliminary enquiry has to be completed within 14 days before filing a formal complaint at the police station.

These reforms are made a huge impact on the procedure and police to their working and these things are required to be completed changed because they are lack in IPC and with several judgment on IPC made by Supreme Court to make it possible but it doesn’t work at all but there completed change code BNS make these things strengthen and effective in terms of Trial, procedure of law, police and there working.

The doctrine for the accused for being to commit often when he/she willingly gives a prior attempt to commit the offence but change their mind then this will be considered as a preparation rather then criminal attempt and this doctrine is called Locus Penitential and person will be not liable for offence as we deemed as a abandonment of the criminal attempt. Such as in the case of Malkiat Singh vs State of Punjab [1969], the court distinguishes between the preparation and attempt.

As a result, we know can conclude that the BNS is more effective model as compared to the IPC and it’s showing the new judicial system within a nation to cover them a large areas of society and shifting of police from manually to the electronic mode which is efficient and needed for in the line of police it’s help them in investigation, inquiry, preliminary report etc.

Conclusion:

The BNS is the most modern, victim-focused, and procedural law that prevails over the law of IPC,1860. This law of BNS enhances the police power and responsibility, and the main point is to remove the jurisdictional and procedural inefficiencies that were happening in IPC, but all was covered in the BNS. Implementing vital changes like Zero FIR, the compulsory recording of electronic evidence, time-bound investigation and inquiry, and forensic integration in serious offences. To this, they are filling the gap between the institutional and statutory provisions by strengthening the effectiveness of an equitable system of justice. These may ensure the guarantee in the field of the legal system, and BNS is mandatory in all states within a nation.

Reference(S):