The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) is the principal criminal code of India, enacted in December 2023 and brought into force on 1 July 2024. The BNS replaces the Indian Penal Code, 1860 — which governed Indian criminal law for over 160 years — restructuring and renumbering the substantive offences while introducing some new categories of crime.
**Scope.** The BNS defines substantive offences (murder, theft, cheating, etc.) and prescribes punishments. Procedural rules for investigation, trial, and appeal are in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Rules of evidence are in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). These three statutes together replace the IPC-CrPC-Evidence Act trinity.
**Section mapping.** Most IPC sections have been renumbered. Notable examples: IPC 302 (murder) becomes BNS 103; IPC 420 (cheating) becomes BNS 318; IPC 376 (rape) becomes BNS 64; IPC 498A (cruelty) becomes BNS 85. The BNS adds new offences — notably on organized crime, terrorism, and mob lynching.
**Applicability rule.** Offences committed on or after 1 July 2024 are tried under the BNS. Offences committed before that date continue under the IPC — the date of the offence, not the date of filing or cognizance, determines the applicable regime. This creates a sustained period during which practitioners must juggle both regimes: current BNS for new matters, legacy IPC for pending cases.
Drafting under the BNS requires updated templates — citation to BNS sections for new matters, IPC sections for pending ones.