BNS / BNSS / BSA Section Mapping Guide for Lawyers — 2026 Edition

The Three New Laws: What Each Replaced

1. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) — replaces IPC 1860

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 is the substantive criminal law that replaced the 163-year-old Indian Penal Code. It came into force on 1 July 2024. BNS retains most IPC offences but restructures them under a different numbering scheme, removes some offences (notably sedition under IPC 124A), and introduces new provisions including organised crime and terrorist acts within the main code. For lawyers, the most immediate impact is section numbers: your templates, FIR formats, and complaint drafts that cite IPC sections need to be updated for post-July 2024 matters.

2. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) — replaces CrPC 1973

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. It governs how criminal proceedings are conducted — arrest, bail, charge sheet, trial procedure, appeals. Key changes include mandatory timelines (charge sheet within 60 or 90 days depending on the offence), strengthened bail rights, enhanced victim rights including mandatory information to victims on case progress, and the introduction of "zero FIR" (an FIR can be filed at any police station regardless of jurisdiction, then transferred). Pending cases filed before 1 July 2024 continue under CrPC as per BNSS Section 531.

3. Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) — replaces Indian Evidence Act 1872

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872, modernising evidentiary rules for the digital age. Its most significant practical change is the formal recognition and enhanced admissibility of electronic records — emails, WhatsApp messages, call recordings, and electronic documents — with clearer standards for authentication. Electronic signatures are explicitly admissible. The BSA also updates secondary evidence rules, making certified copies of electronic records easier to produce in court.

IPC to BNS Section Mapping — Complete Reference Table

Use this table when drafting FIRs, criminal complaints, legal notices citing penal provisions, or bail applications for matters arising on or after 1 July 2024. For offences before 1 July 2024, continue citing IPC sections.

Note: Special and local laws (Prevention of Corruption Act, PMLA, POCSO, NDPS, Companies Act, Income Tax Act, GST Act, NI Act, etc.) are separate statutes and are not replaced by BNS. They continue to operate as before unless separately amended.

Transition Rules: Which Law Applies When

The transition between the old and new codes is governed primarily by BNSS Section 531, which mirrors the general principle of non-retrospectivity in criminal law.

Practical rule of thumb: Ask yourself — when did the alleged offence occur? If before 1 July 2024, use IPC. If on or after 1 July 2024, use BNS. The date of filing the complaint is irrelevant for this determination.

Key BNSS Procedural Changes Affecting Criminal Practice

Mandatory Charge Sheet Timelines

BNSS introduces hard deadlines for filing charge sheets (called "police reports" in the old CrPC). The investigating agency must file the charge sheet within 60 days for offences punishable with imprisonment up to 7 years, and within 90 days for more serious offences. Failure to file within this period entitles the accused to default bail — a right that already existed under CrPC but is now more explicitly codified.

Zero FIR

Under BNSS, a Zero FIR can be filed at any police station in India, regardless of where the offence was committed. The receiving police station must record the FIR and transfer it to the station with jurisdiction within 15 days. This is particularly useful for victims who are not in the offence's location.

Bail Reforms

BNSS strengthens bail rights, particularly for first-time offenders and undertrials. If an undertrial has served half the maximum sentence for the offence, they are entitled to bail on a personal bond. Courts are mandated to consider bail applications within specified timeframes.

Victim Rights and Information

BNSS gives victims a more active role. Police must inform victims within 90 days about the progress of investigation. Victims have the right to be heard before settlement of cases by compounding. For offences with more than 7 years imprisonment, the public prosecutor must obtain court permission to withdraw a case (a check against arbitrary withdrawal).

Electronic Summons and Warrants

BNSS formally permits courts to issue summons and warrants electronically. This means your clients may receive summons via email or SMS. Lawyers should advise clients to take electronic communications from courts seriously — these carry the same legal weight as paper summons.

BSA: What Changed for Electronic Evidence

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 is the most practically significant change for commercial litigation. Here is what matters for day-to-day practice:

Electronic Records are Primary Evidence

Under the old Evidence Act, electronic records were treated as secondary evidence and required a certificate under Section 65B — a procedural hurdle that caused many documents to be rejected at trial. BSA formally elevates electronic records to the status of primary evidence when properly authenticated, reducing the risk of rejection on purely technical grounds.

Digital Signatures and Certificates

BSA explicitly recognises digital signatures and electronic authentication. A document signed with a valid digital signature is admissible without additional proof of authenticity. This affects contract disputes, board resolutions, and any matter where signed electronic documents are key evidence.

Admissibility of WhatsApp and Email Conversations

Under BSA, WhatsApp messages, email threads, and other electronic communications are admissible as evidence with a simplified authentication requirement. The producing party needs to demonstrate the genuineness of the device and the communications — courts are becoming more comfortable with screenshots and metadata-backed printouts. For legal notices citing communication evidence, reference the specific BSA sections on electronic evidence rather than the old 65B framework.

Changed Burden in Electronic Evidence

BSA shifts some burden: once a party produces authenticated electronic evidence, the opposing party must affirmatively prove tampering or inauthenticity. This is a meaningful change from the old position where the producing party bore the entire burden of proving integrity.

7-Point Checklist: Update Your Legal Notice Templates for BNS/BNSS/BSA

If your practice involves criminal law, you likely have standard notice templates that cite IPC and CrPC sections. Work through this checklist to ensure your templates are current:

1. Identify all IPC section references in your templates. Search your notice and complaint templates for "IPC", "Section 420", "Section 302", "Section 379", and any other IPC section numbers. Every one of these needs a decision: update to BNS equivalent or add a conditional note.
2. Add a date-conditional clause. For templates used for both pre- and post-July 2024 offences, add a bracketed instruction: "[For offence before 1 July 2024: cite IPC [X] / For offence on or after 1 July 2024: cite BNS [Y]]". This prevents inadvertent wrong section citation.
3. Update CrPC references to BNSS. Any reference to "Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973" or specific CrPC sections in procedural notices (bail applications, discharge applications, etc.) should be updated to the BNSS equivalent for new matters.
4. Update Evidence Act references to BSA. Templates that cite Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act (certificate for electronic records) need to reference the corresponding BSA provision for new matters.
5. Verify Section 138 NI Act templates are untouched. Confirm that your cheque-bounce notice templates have not been altered based on any misconception that BNS changed Section 138. They should not be changed — the NI Act is separate and unchanged.
6. Update template headers and recitals. Notices that contain a recital citing "the Indian Penal Code, 1860" should be updated to "the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023" for post-July 2024 matters. Similarly for CrPC and IEA references.
7. Test with a recent matter before updating all templates. Before bulk-updating your entire template library, draft one notice for a recent (post-July 2024) matter using the new sections and have a colleague review it. Once confirmed, update the full library.

How Glomiq Helps You Update Your Entire Notice Template Library

Updating 20–30 notice templates across IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act references is a high-risk, time-consuming task when done manually in Word. One missed section number in a frequently used template can result in defective notices for months.

With Glomiq, your legal notice templates are structured with named variable fields — including section numbers. When BNS section references need updating:

• Update the section number in the template once — it propagates to every future document generated from that template
• Add conditional fields (pre-July 2024 vs. post-July 2024 section numbers) so the form prompts the user to select the correct version at generation time
• Generate a fresh notice for any client matter in under 2 minutes, with the correct BNS / IPC section for that matter's date
• No manual find-and-replace across Word files — no risk of missing an instance

Lawyers using Glomiq to manage their notice template library report eliminating the "wrong section number" error class entirely, since the section is a named field that is updated in one place, not scattered across individual Word files.

FAQ — BNS / BNSS / BSA for Lawyers

Does BNS 2023 replace the entire IPC 1860?

Yes. BNS replaced the IPC in full effective 1 July 2024. However, for offences committed before 1 July 2024, the IPC continues to apply. The applicable law is determined by the date of the offence, not the date of the complaint or trial.

Is Section 138 NI Act affected by BNS or BNSS?

No. Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 is a separate statute and is completely unaffected by BNS, BNSS, or BSA. The cheque-bounce notice procedure, timelines, and court jurisdiction rules are exactly as they were before 1 July 2024.

What happened to sedition (IPC 124A) under BNS?

IPC Section 124A (sedition) was removed and has no direct equivalent in BNS 2023. Offences related to acts against the sovereignty, integrity, and security of India are now covered under BNS Sections 147–152, but the standalone offence of sedition as defined in IPC 124A no longer exists as a charge.