With the approval of the three revised criminal law bills by both Houses of Parliament and President, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is slated to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita will supplant the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita is set to replace the Indian Evidence Act.
Here are some notable changes in the section numbering as familiar sections transition into new sections:
• Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, addressing the punishment for murder, will now fall under Section 101. Interestingly, Section 302 in the new bill pertains to snatching.
• The offence of cheating, previously covered by Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, has been moved to Section 316 in the new bill, eliminating Section 420 altogether.
• Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code, focusing on illegal assembly, will now be denoted as Section 187.
• Section 121, which addresses waging war or attempting to wage war against the Government of India, will now be referenced as Section 146.
• Defamation, previously governed by Section 499 of the IPC, is now encompassed by Section 354 in the new law.
• Rape, previously dealt with under Section 376 of the IPC, is now split into Section 63 for the offense, Section 64 for punishment, and Section 70 for the offense of gangrape.
• Section 124-A of the IPC, handling sedition, is now recognised as Section 150 under the new law.