Indian Criminal Law —
A Working Reference

Indian criminal law was reset on 1 July 2024. Three new codes — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 — replaced the Indian Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Most substantive offences carry over with renumbering and selective rewriting; procedural reforms include codification of Pankaj Bansal written grounds of arrest and modernised electronic-evidence handling. Defence counsel today operate across both regimes simultaneously — cases registered before 1 July 2024 continue under the older codes; cases after run under the new.

This index page is a working reference. Each statute has a dedicated page covering its scope, key provisions, defence considerations, and the principal Supreme Court decisions interpreting it. The companion landmarks page consolidates the recent Supreme Court framework that the firm relies on across PMLA, CBI, EOW, and bail matters.

The Principal Statutes

The 1 July 2024 Reset — A Working Note

Three observations for defence practitioners. First, the substantive content of most offences is preserved — Section 318 BNS (cheating) reads almost identically to Section 415 IPC; Section 316 BNS (criminal breach of trust) parallels IPC 405; Section 336 BNS (forgery) parallels IPC 463. Pairing each new section with its predecessor is essential for transitional matters. Second, procedural reforms are more substantial — Section 47 BNSS codifies the Pankaj Bansal written-grounds-of-arrest principle, Section 482 BNSS retains anticipatory bail with the Sushila Aggarwal framework, Section 528 BNSS preserves Section 482 CrPC quashing jurisdiction with Bhajan Lal categories operative. Third, evidentiary reforms are largely organisational — BSA renumbers and reorganises the Evidence Act with marginal substantive changes, principally in electronic-evidence handling under Section 63 BSA.

For matters registered before 1 July 2024, the old codes continue to govern. For matters after, the new codes apply. Where investigation crosses the cut-off date — for example, an FIR registered in June 2024 with chargesheet filed in 2025 — transitional provisions in the new codes preserve continuity. Defence counsel verify the operative regime in every matter before drafting.

Why the Three-Codes-Plus-Two Structure Matters

The five statutes catalogued on this page split into two natural categories. The three new codes — BNS, BNSS, BSA — together replace the British-era criminal-law trio (IPC, CrPC, IEA) and govern the procedural and substantive backbone of every criminal proceeding in India. The two special acts — PMLA and PC Act — operate alongside the general regime for specific subject-matter (money laundering and corruption respectively). For the firm's white-collar criminal practice, all five are routinely engaged simultaneously: a typical PMLA matter involves the substantive offence under PMLA Section 3, procedural rules under BNSS, evidentiary admissibility under BSA, parallel CBI investigation under PC Act for the predicate offence, and substantive cheating/CBT charges under BNS. Defence counsel therefore work across the full set, not within a single statute.

The relationship between the general codes and the special acts is also consequential. PMLA Section 71 — the non-obstante clause — provides that PMLA prevails over inconsistent provisions of any other law. Section 65 PMLA, conversely, provides that BNSS procedural provisions apply to PMLA proceedings except where inconsistent with PMLA itself. This creates a layered procedural framework: general procedure under BNSS, modified by special-act provisions where PMLA / PC Act / NDPS / UAPA applies. Defence drafting must navigate this layered structure carefully — citing the wrong general procedural provision in a special-act matter, or vice versa, undermines the submission.

How Defence Counsel Use This Reference

The five statute pages are designed as working references rather than treatises. Each page sets out the act's scope and relevance; provides a section navigator with jump-anchors to the principal provisions; renders each provision in a structured statute-citation card with the section number, title, and explanatory note; references the gazette source where applicable; and frames the provisions within the firm's working defence practice. Counsel landing on a statute page in active matter preparation can navigate directly to the relevant provision, read the firm's working note, and cross-reference to the landmarks page for the Supreme Court decisions interpreting it.

The pages are kept reasonably current — when the Supreme Court issues a substantial new decision interpreting one of these statutes (Pankaj Bansal in 2024 was the most recent), the relevant statute page is updated and the landmarks page expanded. The library is not a substitute for Manupatra or SCC OnLine — counsel must verify the latest position before pleading, particularly for fast-moving doctrines like the Section 17A PC Act approval framework or the developing post-Pankaj-Bansal arrest jurisprudence. The pages reflect the firm's reading of the law as in force at last update; they are not legal advice for a specific matter.

Statutes Beyond This Reference

Several statutes routinely engaged in the firm's criminal practice are not catalogued on dedicated pages here, principally because their provisions are heavily fact-dependent or sectorally specialised. The Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 — Section 138 cheque dishonour — has its own substantive treatment in the firm's commercial-litigation practice, with magistrate-court engagement protocols distinct from the white-collar work catalogued here. The Companies Act 2013 — particularly Section 447 fraud and Section 212 SFIO — operates at the corporate-criminal boundary and is treated within the white-collar niche page. The NDPS Act 1985 and UAPA 1967 are special-act statutes the firm engages with selectively in matters that overlap with the white-collar / financial-crime focus. The Customs Act 1962 surfaces in matters originating at the IGI Airport jurisdiction, primarily through Dwarka Sessions Court. For matters under any of these adjacent statutes, defence engagement coordinates with the relevant primary-statute framework on this reference page.

Defence Engagement

For active criminal matters under any of the statutes catalogued here, the firm's criminal practice is led by Senior Partner Advocate Subodh Bajpai (LLM, MBA — XLRI Jamshedpur) with appearance support across Delhi NCR district courts, the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court of India. Senior Counsel are briefed for substantive oral arguments at appellate forums where the matter requires institutional weight. Engagement letters cover scope, fee structure, and the role of co-counsel. Contact +91 84008 60008 (mark URGENT for active arrest matters) or legal@unifiedchambers.com.