Exploring the Backbone of India’s Criminal Justice System: Major Criminal Acts

Every time a crime is committed in India – whether a petty theft or a serious offence like murder – a vast legal machinery quietly springs into action. Who defines what counts as a crime? Who decides how the police should investigate? And how does a court decide what evidence to believe? The answers lie in three foundational laws that have governed India’s criminal justice system for well over a century: the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA). As of July 1, 2024, these colonial-era laws have been replaced by three new codes – but understanding the originals remains essential for any student of law, as they form the conceptual bedrock of everything that followed.

The three pillars of criminal law in India 🔗

India’s criminal justice system rests on three distinct but deeply interconnected frameworks. The first tells you what is a crime and what punishment it carries. The second tells you how the criminal process unfolds – from FIR to verdict. The third tells you what the court can rely on to reach that verdict. Together, these three laws create a complete system: one that defines offences, prescribes procedure, and regulates proof.

On July 1, 2024, India replaced all three laws with modern counterparts – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). But to truly understand the new laws, you must first understand what they replaced and why those frameworks mattered.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860: defining crime and punishment 🔗

The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 was India’s principal substantive criminal law – the code that actually defined offences and prescribed punishments. It was drafted on the recommendations of the First Law Commission of India, chaired by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, and came into force on January 1, 1862. For over 160 years, it remained the single most important piece of criminal legislation in the country.

The IPC was a comprehensive code. It covered offences against the human body (murder, assault, grievous hurt), offences against property (theft, robbery, extortion), offences against the state (sedition, waging war), and offences relating to marriage, defamation, public nuisance, and more. With 23 chapters and 511 sections, it was designed to address virtually every form of criminal conduct.

Substantive vs. procedural law: why the distinction matters 🔗

The IPC is what lawyers call substantive law – it defines rights, duties, and wrongs. Substantive laws form the foundation of justice by specifying what constitutes an offence and what punishment it attracts. For example, Section 302 of the IPC defined murder and prescribed the death penalty or life imprisonment. Section 378 defined theft. This is different from procedural law, which deals with how those offences are investigated and tried – that was the job of the CrPC.

From the IPC to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 🔗

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 replaced the IPC with a streamlined code of 358 sections, down from the original 511. The BNS introduced 20 new offences, including provisions for organised crime and terrorism – categories that were previously handled by special statutes. It also decriminalised certain archaic provisions, such as attempted suicide under Section 309 of the IPC, in line with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and removed adultery as a criminal offence following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Joseph Shine v. Union of India (2018). A notable addition is community service as a form of punishment – a first in Indian criminal law – aimed at rehabilitation over mere penalisation.

One significant addition under the BNS is Section 106, which addresses death caused by negligence. The section increased the imprisonment term for causing death by negligence from two years under the old IPC to ten years – a change that generated considerable debate, particularly in the transport sector.

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: the machinery of justice 🔗

If the IPC defines the crime, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) runs the entire criminal justice process. It provides the machinery for investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence, and determination of punishment of the guilty. In simple terms, the CrPC is the rulebook that police, magistrates, and courts follow from the moment a complaint is filed to the moment a sentence is served.

The CrPC introduced important distinctions that govern how different offences are handled. Cognisable offences – those serious enough to allow police to arrest without a warrant – are treated differently from non-cognisable offences, where a warrant is required. It also established the hierarchy of courts: Magistrate’s Courts, Sessions Courts, High Courts, and the Supreme Court, each with defined jurisdiction over different categories of cases.

Key features of the CrPC 🔗

The CrPC covered everything from how an FIR (First Information Report) is registered, to how bail operates, to how trials are conducted and appeals are filed. Among its most important contributions was the introduction of anticipatory bail – the right to seek bail before an arrest is made – which was a significant safeguard for personal liberty. It also introduced plea bargaining in 2005, allowing accused persons in certain offences to negotiate a lesser sentence in exchange for a guilty plea, reducing the burden on courts.

From the CrPC to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 🔗

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) replaced the CrPC and mandates forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven years of imprisonment or more. Forensic experts are now required to visit crime scenes and record the entire process – a reform aimed at improving evidence quality and increasing conviction rates. The BNSS also introduces strict timelines to address India’s chronic problem of delayed trials: chargesheets must be filed within 60-90 days, judgments must be delivered within 45 days of completing arguments, and the entire trial process must ideally conclude within three years.

Digital integration is another hallmark of the BNSS. It introduces mandatory video recording of search and seizure processes, electronic filing of FIRs and summons, and provisions for trials in absentia against proclaimed offenders – a significant reform that addresses the problem of accused persons absconding to indefinitely delay proceedings. The BNSS also allows an accused to be examined via electronic means, reducing procedural delays significantly.

The Indian Evidence Act, 1872: what courts can believe 🔗

A fair trial is only as good as the evidence presented. The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) was the law that governed what evidence courts in India could rely on and how that evidence had to be presented. It applies to all civil and criminal proceedings and covers confessions, relevancy of facts, and burden of proof.

The IEA drew a clear distinction between two types of evidence: oral evidence (testimony from witnesses) and documentary evidence (written records and documents). It set out rules for when evidence is relevant, when a fact is “proved” or “disproved,” and who bears the burden of proof – which in criminal law lies primarily with the prosecution. One notable rule is that confessions made to police officers are inadmissible, a safeguard designed to prevent coerced confessions from being used in court.

The problem with digital evidence under the old law 🔗

When the IEA was enacted in 1872, digital technology was obviously nonexistent. As India entered the internet age, courts struggled with how to treat emails, CCTV footage, mobile call records, and electronic documents. A 2000 amendment to the IEA allowed electronic records to be treated as secondary evidence under Section 65B, but this created complications around authentication and admissibility that courts grappled with for decades.

From the IEA to the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 🔗

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) classifies electronic records as primary evidence – a significant upgrade from the old law, which treated them as secondary evidence. This means emails, text messages, server logs, social media communications, and data stored on smartphones and cloud platforms now carry the same legal weight in court as a physical document. Section 61 of the BSA ensures that digital or electronic records will have the same legal effect, validity, and enforceability as other documents.

The BSA also expands the definition of a “document” to explicitly include electronic and digital records. Section 2 of the BSA introduces electronic records such as emails, server logs, text messages, and digital files as admissible documents in court. Additionally, authentication of digital evidence now requires certification from an expert – a requirement designed to prevent tampering and ensure reliability. The BSA has 170 sections, slightly more than the IEA’s 167, reflecting the expansion of evidentiary categories to address modern realities.

How the three laws work together 🔗

It is worth pausing to appreciate how tightly these three laws are interlocked. Consider a murder case. The IPC (now BNS) defines what murder is and what punishment it carries. When the police receive a complaint, the CrPC (now BNSS) dictates exactly how the FIR is filed, how the investigation must proceed, what powers the police have, when the accused can be arrested, whether bail is available, how the chargesheet is filed, and how the trial unfolds in court. Then, when the case is actually argued before a judge, the IEA (now BSA) determines which documents, witness testimonies, forensic reports, and electronic records the court can actually consider when reaching its verdict.

Remove any one of these three, and the system breaks down. Without the IPC/BNS, there is no clear definition of what conduct is criminal. Without the CrPC/BNSS, there is no structured process to bring an accused to trial. Without the IEA/BSA, there is no principled way to evaluate what is true. This is why legal scholars often describe these three as the trinity of Indian criminal law.

Why the 2024 reforms matter for law students 🔗

The transition from the colonial-era codes to the BNS, BNSS, and BSA is more than a renaming exercise. These new codes embody a forward-thinking approach, aligning legal frameworks with modern societal needs and technological realities. The new laws bring time-bound justice delivery, mandatory forensics, digital court procedures, and a broader definition of evidence – addressing shortcomings that the old laws, drafted in a pre-digital, colonial context, could not have anticipated.

For law students, understanding both the old frameworks and the new ones is essential. Thousands of cases registered before July 1, 2024 continue to be governed by the IPC, CrPC, and IEA. Courts will be applying both sets of laws simultaneously for years. A solid grounding in the original frameworks is not just academic – it is directly relevant to how India’s courts will function in the near future.

What do you think? With the shift from colonial-era criminal codes to the BNS, BNSS, and BSA, do you think India’s criminal justice system has truly been decolonised, or is it largely the same framework in new clothes? And given that courts will apply both old and new laws simultaneously for years, how should law students prioritise their study of the two regimes?

References

1. https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/07/india-post-colonial-criminal-codes-come-into-force/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Penal_Code
3. https://theoryofabrogation.com/ipc-1860-vs-bns-2023a-complete-comparison-and-evolution-of-indians-criminal-law/
4. https://www.legalbites.in/bharatiya-nyaya-sanhita/changes-brought-by-bharatiya-nyaya-sanhita-2023-over-indian-penal-code-1860-1066304
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Criminal_Procedure_(India)
6. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita-2023
7. https://grokipedia.com/page/Bharatiya_Nagarik_Suraksha_Sanhita
8. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-bharatiya-sakshya-bill-2023
9. https://www.livelaw.in/know-the-law/understanding-e-evidence-under-bhartiya-sakshya-adhiniyam-2023-key-provisions-and-implications-263448
10. https://veracausalegal.com/blogs/bharatiya-sakshya-adhiniyam-2023/
11. https://www.sdpartners.in/post/old-criminal-codes-v-s-new-criminal-codes-a-brief-overview