PROVISIONS UNDER BNS
PROVISIONS UNDER BNS
Main features of the new criminal laws are given in the Annexure.
For the first time, new offences of mob lynching have been made punishable in section 103 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Section 103 (2) of BNS provides that when a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other similar ground each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
In the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, for the first time, the provisions relating to crime against woman and child have been given precedence and placed under one Chapter. Strict punishments up to death sentence have been provided for the offences against women. Punishment for gang rape of a woman below the age of 18 years is life imprisonment till remainder of the convict’s natural life or death. A new offence for having sexual intercourse on false promise of marriage, employment, promotion or by concealing identity, etc. has also been incorporated in BNS. Main provisions related protection of woman in the new Criminal Laws are given in Annexure.
The Government is providing necessary training, resources and technical assistance to States/UTs for effective implementation of the new laws. The measures include:
The above measures aim to ensure smooth and effective implementation of the Nyaya Sanhita across the country.
Annexure
MAIN FEATURES OF THE NEW CRIMINAL LAWS
The new criminal laws mark a significant step towards creating a citizen centric, more accessible and efficient justice system. The following are main features of the new criminal laws:
Victim Centric Provisions
Provisions for Protection of Woman and Child
Provision relating to use of Technology and Forensics
Timelines
Reformative Approach
i. Community service: The new laws introduce community service for minor offences. The offenders get the chance to positively contribute to society, learn from their mistakes and build stronger community bonds.
ii. Expansion of the ambit of summary trial: The ambit of summary trial has now been expanded to include more offences ensuring expeditious disposal of cases.
Rights of the Accused
Arbitrary arrest of individuals solely to initiate judicial proceedings has been curtailed. The police, now, need not arrest an accused person just for the Magistrate to take cognizance of the police report and no arrest is needed for taking handwriting, signature, fingerprint, or voice samples.
New Offences
Trial in absentia
A new provision of trial in absentia for persons declared as proclaimed offenders allows the Court to proceed with the trial and pronounce the verdict in the absence of the accused. This provision ensures that justice is neither delayed nor denied.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
- Nationwide training programmes for police personnel, prosecutors and other stakeholders through the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
- E-learning modules hosted on the iGOT Karmayogi platform.
- Financial assistance for modernization of police forces and strengthening of forensic infrastructure.
- Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in coordination with BPR&D, NCRB and NIC also extended support to States/UTs by upgrading the existing digital platforms such as CCTNS, e-Forensics, e-Prosecution and e-Prisons and developing new digital platforms such as e-Sakshya, e-Summons, Nyaya Shruti and MedLeaPR. The e-Sakshya facilitates the electronic recording of collection of evidence from the scene of crime and related procedures envisaged under the BNSS; e-Summons enables the digital issuance and service of summons; Nyaya Shruti enables evidence in Courts through Video Conferencing; and MedLEaPR to digitally capture Medico Legal Reports (MLRs) and Postmortem Reports (PMRs).