BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA , 2023

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) is the official penal code of India. It repealed and replaced the 163-year-old British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, coming into full legal effect across the country on July 1, 2024. The BNS streamlines criminal law by reducing the number of sections from 511 (under the IPC) to 358 sections, while introducing modern provisions to handle contemporary crimes.