The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita is the procedural half of India’s criminal law reform. It replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from 1 July 2024 and governs the entire journey of a criminal case: how a complaint becomes an FIR, how police investigate, how arrest and bail work, how trials run and how appeals are heard. Cases already pending on 1 July 2024 continue under the old Code.
For an ordinary complainant the most useful change is that Zero FIR now has statutory backing. A police station cannot turn you away because the offence happened in another jurisdiction; it must register the FIR and transfer it. Complaints can be filed electronically, a free copy of the FIR must be given to the informant, and the police must update the complainant on progress within ninety days.
The Sanhita builds in deadlines that the old Code lacked. Charges must be framed within sixty days of the first hearing, judgment must be delivered within forty five days of arguments closing, and rape investigations must finish in two months. Forensic examination of the crime scene becomes compulsory for offences carrying seven years or more, and search and seizure must be recorded on video.
Some provisions have drawn sustained criticism. Police custody can now be sought in instalments spread across the first forty or sixty days of remand rather than only in the opening fortnight, trial in absentia of absconders is allowed, and handcuffing is expressly permitted for a list of serious offences.