The Indian Penal Code (IPC) the main criminal code of India, has recently been replaced by a new code called the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on July 1, 2024.

The IPC was a comprehensive code that defined crimes and their punishments. It was drafted in the 1830s and came into force in 1862. The BNS is intended to be a modernization of the IPC. A total of 511 sections were there in IPC, but there are 357 sections in BNS. More offences have been taken into consideration under the Act such as mob lynching, hate speech, cybercrime which were not part of the IPC. BNS aims for simpler and clearer language for better understanding.

Change In Sections:
Let's have a look at the sections that have been changed for the same offence.

Crime	IPC	BNS
Murder	302	103
Attempt to Murder	307	109
Culpable homicide not amounting to murder	304	105
Death caused due to negligence	304A	106
Rape, Gangrape	375,376	63,64,70
Waging/ attempting/ abetment to wage war against Government of India	121,121A	147,148
Defamation	499,500	356
Assault/ Criminal force to outrage her modesty	354	74
Dowry death	304B	80
Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.	498A	85
Theft	379	303
Robbery	392	309
Dacoity	395	310
Sedition	124A	Doesn't exist
Cheating	420	318

Changes In Offences In BNS:

• Offences relating to sexual harassment: These have been mentioned from Section 63-99 in the BNS. The laws relating to Sexual Harassment have been made gender neutral. Both boys and girls could get procured for sexual exploitation. The word 'minor girl' in section 366A of the IPC has been replaced with the word 'child' in section 96 of the BNS to cover both male and female children below the age of 18 years and the offence of procurement has been made punishable under the BNS.
  
  It has been introduced as section 141 in the BNS to cover the offence of importing into India any girl under the age of 21 years or any boy under the age of 18 years with the intent that such person will be forced or seduced to illicit sexual acts with another person. Section 366B in the IPC has been made gender neutral by replacing the phrase "importation of girl from a foreign country" with "importation of girl or boy from a foreign country".
  
  S.70(2) of the BNS introduces a "new offence" of gang rape of a woman under 18 years of age. This new offence proposes that gang rape of all minor women be punishable with death or with whole life sentence. The IPC currently provides this sentencing option only for the gang rape of a woman under 12 years under section 376DB.
   
• Offences affecting life: Offences that affect life are covered from section 100-147, BNS. Punishment for murder is given under section 103. Section 111 lays down punishment for organised crime; section 113 defines terror attack. Mob-lynching has now been defined under the new Act under Section 103(2) with punishment of death or with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.
   
• Marital Rape: BNS maintains the exception for marital rape in section 63, similar to the exception found in section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to the IPC, sexual intercourse between a man and his wife is not considered rape. Similarly, the BNS includes a provision in section 67 that criminalizes a husband's rape of his separated wife but imposes a lesser penalty compared to other instances of rape.
   
• Sedition: There is no separate section for sedition in BNS. Section 124A of the existing IPC is the law of sedition. In the new law, cases like challenging the sovereignty of the country and attacking its integrity have been defined in sections 147-158. Section 147 states that anyone found guilty of waging war against the country will be punished by death or life imprisonment. Section 148 provides for life imprisonment for those involved in such conspiracies and section 149 for those who collect weapons or prepare for war. It is stated in section 152 that if anyone knowingly does, by writing or speaking or by signs or by performing any electronic means, any act which is likely to constitute rebellion, which is likely to cause division, threatens the unity of the country or promotes separatism and discrimination, then if found guilty in such a case, the punishment is life imprisonment or 7 years.
   
• Mental Health: Harming mental health is considered a crime. This has been kept in section 85. It says that if any action is taken to instigate a woman to commit suicide, then it would amount to cruelty. If the woman is hurt or her life is put in danger or her health or physical health is put in danger, then there is a provision of 3 years' imprisonment for the culprit.
   
• Organised Crime: These have been kept in section 111. It says that if a person runs an organized crime syndicate, does contract killing, extortion or commits economic crimes, then the culprit may be punished with death penalty or imprisonment for life.

Crimes Having No Major Changes:

• Marital rape is not a crime: BNS maintains the exception for marital rape in section 63, similar to the exception found in section 375 of the IPC. According to the IPC, sexual intercourse between a man and his wife is not considered rape. Similarly, the BNS includes a provision in section 67 that criminalizes a husband's rape of his separated wife but imposes a lesser penalty compared to other instances of rape.
   
• Dowry Law: There is no change regarding dowry harassment law.
   
• Section 377 (Offences relating to Unnatural Sex): No provisions have been made clear in the new bill regarding Section 377 i.e. unnatural sex. However, the Supreme Court had removed sexual relations between adults from the scope of crime vide its judgement in Navtej Singh Johar Vs Union of India. Unnatural sex with a woman is within the scope of rape. But there is no provision in the bill on adult male sex against their will and unnatural sex with animals.