The FIR you file, the timeline the police work to, the section your lawyer cites for anticipatory bail — all of it changed on one day. Most of the machinery survived. The section numbers did not.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from 1 July 2024, with 531 sections governing everything from the FIR to the appeal.
The bottom line
What it covers: FIRs, investigation, arrest, bail, trial, judgment and appeals.
The reforms that matter: Zero FIR and e-FIR under Section 173, mandatory forensic investigation for offences punishable by seven years or more under Section 176(3), strict timelines across the process, trial in absentia of proclaimed offenders under Section 356, and mandatory audio-video recording of search and seizure.
The number to relearn first: anticipatory bail is now Section 482, formerly Section 438 of the CrPC.
Why the CrPC was replaced
The CrPC, 1973 governed criminal procedure for half a century. What prompted the overhaul was not a single failure but a set of them: chronic delays, low conviction rates, forensics used sparingly, and victims with almost no role in the process.
The BNSS is one of three new criminal laws, alongside the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on offences and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam on evidence. Its stated aim is time-bound, technology-driven and victim-sensitive justice, and it codifies several Supreme Court safeguards along the way.
Structure and scope
The BNSS runs to 531 sections, up from 484 in the CrPC, and governs the whole criminal process: how an offence is reported and investigated, how arrests and searches happen, how bail works, how trials run, and how judgments and appeals proceed.
It keeps the old distinction between cognizable offences, where the police can investigate and arrest without a warrant, and non-cognizable ones, which generally need a Magistrate's order. It applies to proceedings initiated on or after 1 July 2024.
FIR, Zero FIR and e-FIR
Section 173 reworks the starting point of most cases.
- Zero FIR. An FIR for a cognizable offence can be registered at any police station, whatever the jurisdiction, and transferred to the right one afterwards. That ends the old runaround of being sent from station to station.
- e-FIR. Information can be given electronically, and an electronically filed report must be signed within three days to be formally recorded.
- A free copy goes to the informant and to the victim.
- Preliminary enquiry. For offences punishable between 3 and 7 years, the officer may — with a senior officer's permission — conduct a preliminary enquiry within 14 days before registering. Critics say this sits uneasily with the Supreme Court's mandate that FIRs for cognizable offences be registered promptly.
Arrest and the rights of the accused
Several arrest safeguards drawn from Supreme Court rulings are now written into the statute: the right to inform a relative or friend of the arrest, the right to consult a lawyer, and limits on arresting the infirm or elderly for less serious offences without senior approval.
The medical examination provisions carry over, and Section 94 adds detail on handling seized property and electronic devices. More controversially, the BNSS permits handcuffing in a defined range of cases, which is a point of live debate given the judicial restrictions that came before it.
Investigation, forensics and timelines
Two changes here do most of the work.
Mandatory forensics. Under Section 176(3), for offences punishable with seven years' imprisonment or more, a forensic expert must visit the crime scene to collect evidence, and the process must be videographed. Because the forensic infrastructure has to be built out first, this is being phased in over a few years.
Timelines. The BNSS puts deadlines across the process: investigation in specified sexual-offence cases within two months, supply of documents to the accused within 14 days, framing of charges within 60 days of the first hearing, and judgment within 30 days of the conclusion of arguments, extendable to 45.
Taken together, the direction of travel is away from confession-led investigation and towards scientific and digital evidence.
Bail and anticipatory bail
The bail framework survives with changes. Anticipatory bail — pre-arrest protection — now sits at Section 482, having been Section 438 of the CrPC, which is the renumbering most likely to catch a practitioner mid-application.
For undertrial detainees, a first-time offender is entitled to release after serving one-third of the maximum sentence, and others after half, aimed at decongesting prisons. The relief is excluded for offences punishable with life imprisonment and for anyone facing multiple charges, which critics point out limits how much of the prison population it can actually reach.
Trial, judgment and trial in absentia
Section 356 is the landmark change. Where a person has been declared a proclaimed offender and has absconded with no immediate prospect of arrest, the court can — after recording reasons — proceed with the trial and pronounce judgment in their absence, treating the absconding as a waiver of the right to be present.
It is reserved for serious offences and comes with safeguards, including representation by a lawyer for cross-examination. The target is the long-standing problem of fugitives stalling a case indefinitely.
The BNSS also expands electronic trials and video-conferencing, and tightens the timelines for delivering judgments.
Technology and victim rights
This is the most thorough digitisation of Indian criminal procedure so far: e-FIRs, e-summons, electronic service of notices, video-conferenced proceedings, digital case records, and mandatory audio-video recording of search and seizure, which is then forwarded to the Magistrate.
On the victim's side, participation is strengthened. An investigation-progress update within 90 days. A right to be heard before bail in serious cases. A statutory footing for witness protection, and victim-compensation provisions.
The criticism
Supporters read the BNSS as a long-overdue modernisation that codifies rights and attacks delay. The objections are worth stating plainly rather than in passing.
Several provisions expand police powers — extended police custody arrangements, the discretionary preliminary enquiry, broader powers to seize devices, handcuffing. Some standards are vague enough to leave room for misuse. And implementation depends on forensic and digital infrastructure that many districts do not yet have.
As with any reform on this scale, much of the answer will come from how courts read the new provisions and how well the system is resourced to run them.
A worked example
A serious assault, an offence punishable with more than seven years, is reported.
The victim can register a Zero FIR at the nearest police station, or file an e-FIR and sign it within three days, and receives a free copy either way. Because of the sentence range, Section 176(3) requires a forensic expert to visit the scene and collect evidence, with the process videographed.
The investigation runs against the statutory timelines, the search and seizure are audio-video recorded, and the victim gets a progress update within 90 days.
If the accused absconds and is declared a proclaimed offender, the court can ultimately proceed to trial in absentia under Section 356 — a route that did not broadly exist under the old Code.
Frequently asked questions
What replaced the CrPC? The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Can I file an FIR online under the BNSS? Yes. Section 173 allows electronic filing, which must be signed within three days, and Zero FIR registration at any police station.
When is forensic investigation mandatory? For offences punishable with seven years' imprisonment or more, a forensic expert must visit the crime scene under Section 176(3). It is being phased in as infrastructure develops.
What is trial in absentia under the BNSS? Under Section 356, a court can try a declared proclaimed offender who has absconded and pronounce judgment in their absence, for serious offences and with safeguards.
Where is anticipatory bail now? Section 482 of the BNSS, formerly Section 438 of the CrPC.
Does the BNSS apply to a case that started before 1 July 2024? No. It applies to proceedings initiated on or after 1 July 2024, so older cases continue under the CrPC.