Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

Structure

The BNSS comprises 39 chapters and 531 sections. In addition, there are two schedules also. The outline of the Sanhita is as follows:

Changes

The BNSS makes a number of changes to the CrPC, some key changes are:

• Consolidating and simplifying the law: The BNSS consolidates and simplifies the law by repealing and amending a number of provisions of the CrPC.
• Strengthening the rights of the accused: The BNSS strengthens the rights of the accused by providing for safeguards, such as the right to a lawyer of choice during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation, and the right to a fair trial. Every police officer or other person arresting any person without warrant shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest. When any person is arrested, he shall be examined by a medical officer in the service of the Central Government or a State Government, and in case the medical officer is not available, by a registered medical practitioner soon after the arrest is made.
• Improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system: The BNSS seeks to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system by streamlining procedures and reducing delays.

The following are some of the key changes made in the BNSS:

• Arrest: The BNSS gives the police more powers to investigate crimes and requires them to complete investigations within a specified time period.
• Trial: The BNSS streamlines the trial process and requires courts to dispose of cases within a specified time period.
• Community Service For the first time in India's penal code history, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS) introduces "Community Service" as a distinct form of punishment, marking a significant shift towards reformative justice. This provision allows courts to sentence offenders to unpaid work for the benefit of the community for specific petty offences, such as defamation, public intoxication, and attempting to commit suicide with the intent to restrain a public servant. By incorporating this alternative to imprisonment, the BNSS aims to reduce the burden on the prison system while offering a constructive avenue for rehabilitation for minor infractions.
• Section 173 of the BNSS gives statutory recognition to the concept of Zero FIR, which allows a First Information Report (FIR) to be registered at any police station, irrespective of its territorial jurisdiction. The provision mandates that information regarding a cognizable offence can be given orally or electronically to an officer-in-charge, who must register it and transfer it to the relevant jurisdictional police station.

Analysis

BNSS makes the ability of the accused to secure bail, more difficult and limits the scope for plea bargaining. It empowers police officers to compel an accused to produce their digital devices to access their contents for investigation purposes. It also gives police the discretion to seize and attach the property of an accused before a trial has taken place.

For every cognisable offence punishable for three years or more but less than seven years, BNSS mandates a preliminary inquiry to be conducted by the police before an FIR can be lodged. This supersedes the Supreme Court's decision in Lalita Kumari vs Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2013, wherein the court found that investigating officers had undue powers in deciding whether an FIR was warranted.