The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 took effect on July 1, 2024, replacing the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 as the law that governs how criminal cases move through the Indian system. The key provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita set fixed deadlines at nearly every stage of a case, formalize the Zero FIR, make forensic evidence collection compulsory for serious offenses, split police custody into usable phases, give long-detained undertrials a route to bail, allow trial in absentia for absconders, add community service as a punishment, and attach timelines to mercy petitions that never existed before.
How You File a Complaint
Section 173 lets you file a First Information Report at any police station in the country, even if the crime happened in another city or state. The station that receives the complaint must then transfer the case to the jurisdiction where the offense actually took place. This is the Zero FIR, written into statute so victims cannot be turned away for being in the wrong location.1India Code. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 173
You can also report electronically. If you do, you have three days to visit the station and sign the written record to verify it.1India Code. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 173
Preliminary Inquiry Before Registration
For cognizable offenses punishable by three years or more but less than seven years, the officer in charge may run a preliminary inquiry before registering the FIR. Starting that inquiry needs prior permission from an officer at or above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, and the inquiry must finish within 14 days. If the officer finds a prima facie case, the FIR is registered. If the 14 days pass without conclusion, the FIR must be registered anyway.1India Code. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 1732Bureau of Police Research and Development. Standard Operating Procedure for Preliminary Enquiry Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
Arrest and Police Custody
Section 187 keeps the 15-day ceiling on police custody but changes how investigators can use those days. Under the old CrPC, the Supreme Court had read the law to confine police custody to the first 15 days after arrest. The BNSS now lets investigators use those 15 days in parts, spread across the first 40 or 60 days of a detention period that can total 60 or 90 days depending on the severity of the offense.3Indian Kanoon. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 1874India Code. Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 – Section 167 So the police can ask for four days of custody, send the accused back to judicial custody, and seek more custody later when new leads surface. The total still cannot exceed 15 days.
Handcuffing Rules
Section 43(3) sets out, for the first time, the situations in which an officer can use handcuffs. The permitted categories include habitual or repeat offenders, people who have previously escaped from custody, and those accused of serious crimes such as murder, rape, organized crime, terrorist acts, drug offenses, illegal possession of arms, acid attacks, counterfeiting, human trafficking, and sexual offenses against children.5Bureau of Police Research and Development. Crime Branch Circular No 05/2024 – Standard Operating Procedure for Handcuffing Outside those situations, officers must justify restraints based on the specific threat the person poses.
A Safeguard for Older and Infirm Persons
Under Section 35(7), no arrest can be made of a person above 60 years of age or an infirm person, for an offense carrying less than three years, without prior permission from an officer at or above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.6Indian Kanoon. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 35
When Undertrial Prisoners Get Bail
Section 479 is one of the most consequential provisions for people sitting in jail waiting for trial to end. If you are a first-time offender who has never been convicted, you must be released on bond once you have served one-third of the maximum sentence for the offense charged. For other undertrials, the threshold is one-half of the maximum sentence. Neither rule applies to offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment.7Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Implementation of the Provisions of Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
The jail superintendent has an explicit duty to apply to the court in writing once a prisoner crosses either threshold. The Supreme Court has confirmed that Section 479 applies to all undertrials, including those whose cases were registered before the BNSS came into force.7Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Implementation of the Provisions of Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Mandatory Forensic Investigation
For any offense punishable by seven years or more, forensic evidence collection at the crime scene is no longer discretionary. Section 176(3) requires the officer in charge to bring a forensic expert to the scene.8Bureau of Police Research and Development. Forensic Evidence Collection Under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita The entire evidence-gathering process must be recorded on video using a mobile phone or other electronic device, creating a visual chain-of-custody record from the start.9Bureau of Police Research and Development. SOP for Audio Visual Recording Under BNSS The practical weight falls on state governments, which have to build out forensic labs and train specialists to meet the demand this creates.
Deadlines Running Through a Case
The BNSS fixes clocks at points the old CrPC left open.
Charge Framing and Judgment
Once an accused appears for the first hearing on charges, the court must frame charges within 60 days.10Bureau of Police Research and Development. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita – Specific Time Lines After arguments conclude, Section 258 requires the judge to deliver judgment within 30 days, extendable to 45 days only if the court records specific written reasons.11Indian Kanoon. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 258 The written-reasons requirement is the enforcement mechanism; a judge who routinely runs past 30 days has to put the reason on paper every time.
Wider Scope for Summary Trials
Section 283 lets a Magistrate try any offense in a summary way as long as it is not punishable by death, life imprisonment, or more than three years. The accused must get a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and the Magistrate must record reasons for choosing the summary route. The maximum sentence through a summary trial is three months of imprisonment.12India Code. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Electronic Proceedings and Digital Evidence
Section 532 permits trials, inquiries, summons, warrant execution, witness examination, appellate proceedings, and plea bargaining to be conducted through audio-video electronic means.13PRS Legislative Research. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 A witness in a remote village or in another country can testify without traveling, and summons can go out through electronic channels.
The companion evidence statute, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, controls how electronic records enter the record. Under Section 63 of the BSA, electronic evidence is admissible only when accompanied by a certificate that includes details of the device used, the identity of the person who created the record, and a cryptographic hash value to verify the file has not been altered. Without a valid certificate, electronic records risk being excluded.
Trial in Absentia for Proclaimed Offenders
Section 356 allows a court to try and convict someone who has fled to avoid prosecution. When a proclaimed offender has absconded and there is no immediate prospect of arrest, the court can proceed in the person’s absence.14Bureau of Police Research and Development. Trial in Absentia The provision carries several safeguards:
- The court cannot begin the trial until at least 90 days have passed since charges were framed.
- The court must issue two consecutive arrest warrants at least 30 days apart, publish a notice in a national or local newspaper at the offender’s last known address, and inform any known relatives or friends.
- If the offender has no lawyer, the court must appoint one at the state’s expense.
- Witness testimony must be recorded via audio-video means where practicable.
- An appeal against conviction must be filed within three years of the judgment, and the offender must appear before the appellate court in person.
Being declared a proclaimed offender requires an accusation of an offense carrying 10 years or more, life imprisonment, or death. If the court issues a proclamation and the accused fails to appear within 30 days, the court can formally declare them a proclaimed offender and move to attach their property.15Bureau of Police Research and Development. Section of BNSS 84, 85, 86
Community Service as a New Punishment
Community service is now a recognized form of punishment in Indian criminal law. The court can order a convict to perform unpaid work that benefits the community, with no remuneration owed for it.16Bureau of Police Research and Development. Community Service The companion substantive law, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, limits this option to a short list of offenses:
- Public servants involved in illegal trade
- Failure to appear in response to a proclamation
- Attempting suicide to influence a legal authority
- First-time petty theft of property valued below ₹5,000
- Public misconduct by a drunk person
- Defamation
Judges have discretion over whether to impose community service in these cases.
Victim Rights and Witness Protection
Section 2(y) defines “victim” to include anyone who has suffered loss or injury caused by the accused, as well as the guardian or legal heir of such a person. Including legal heirs means rights do not vanish if the victim dies during proceedings.17Indian Kanoon. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 2
Victims are entitled to a progress report on the investigation within 90 days of the initial complaint.18Press Information Bureau. Victim Centric Changes in New Criminal Laws Where a prosecutor seeks to withdraw from prosecution of an offense punishable by seven years or more, the victim must be given an opportunity to be heard before the court grants permission.
Section 398 requires every state government to prepare and notify a Witness Protection Scheme to ensure the safety of people who testify in criminal proceedings, making witness protection a statutory obligation rather than an ad hoc arrangement.19Indian Kanoon. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 398
Mercy Petitions and Commutation of Death Sentences
Section 472 sets a 30-day window to file a mercy petition after a death-row convict is informed that the Supreme Court has dismissed their appeal or special leave petition, or that the High Court has confirmed the death sentence and the time for further appeal has expired. Where a case has multiple convicts, all petitions must be filed within 60 days.20Bureau of Police Research and Development. Mercy Petition Under BNSS
Once the Central Government receives a mercy petition, it must seek the State Government’s comments and make its recommendation to the President within 60 days. The law does not impose a deadline on the President’s decision itself. After the President acts, the Central Government must communicate the outcome to the state and the jail superintendent within 48 hours.20Bureau of Police Research and Development. Mercy Petition Under BNSS
Section 474 allows the government to commute a death sentence without the convict’s consent, but under the BNSS a death sentence can only be commuted to life imprisonment. The old CrPC had permitted commutation to “any other punishment.” A person whose death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment must serve at least 14 years before becoming eligible for release.21Bureau of Police Research and Development. Commutation or Remission of Sentence If a woman sentenced to death is found to be pregnant, Section 456 requires the High Court to commute the sentence to life imprisonment.