GD Topic - Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): Reforming Criminal Law for Better or Worse?

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Senior Executive - Editorial

Updated on Sep 26, 2025 11:18 IST

Candidates preparing for the MBA entrance exams must also prepare for the Group Discussion Round. The GD/PI round plays a crucial role in the MBA admission process. Check out the article below on a Group Discussion on the New Criminal Laws, including Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

Group Discussion (GD) assesses candidates on key skills such as communication, English proficiency, listening, leadership, subject knowledge, confidence, and time management. During a Group Discussion (GD), a group of candidates is given a topic. Participants are given five minutes to think and prepare their thoughts. After that, they have to indulge in a 20-25 minute discussion where they share and debate their perspectives.

For admission to this professional course, students have to take MBA entrance exams like CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, and MAH MBA CET. Aspirants aiming for top B-schools and universities must prepare thoroughly for the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds. The GD Topic we will discuss in this article is the New Criminal Law: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023. Know about the needs, changes made, and challenges faced by the BNS 2023 law.

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Table of content

New Criminal Laws: Introduction
Reasons for the Introduction of New Criminal Laws
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023: A New Dawn
Challenges with the New Criminal Laws
Top Group Discussion (GD) Topics for MBA GD/PI

New Criminal Laws: Introduction

Law is the foundation of society. They are the set of rules and regulations enforced by social and governmental institutions to regulate public behavior. There is no pre-defined universal definition of law. Everyone has their own meaning and interpretation of the law. According to John Austin, a prominent English theorist, “Law is a command by the sovereign backed by the threat or sanction.”

Law is categorized into two parts:

Civil law or Common Law: It governs personal matters such as property, housing, marriage, and contracts.
Criminal Law or Penal Law: It addresses crimes such as theft, murder, and cybercrimes. The penal law determines appropriate punishments.

The criminal justice system of India underwent a significant change last year. On July 1, 2024, three new laws were enacted. These are:

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam

These laws replaced colonial-era frameworks, i.e., the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1974, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively. This move shows an attempt made to modernize the Indian Criminal Justice System to meet the contemporary societal needs of society.

Reasons for the Introduction of New Criminal Laws

Shift from Colonial Legacy: The old laws were based on colonial objectives. Their main priority was to instill British authority and control over justice. Therefore, it was necessary to replace these laws to reflect Indian values, societal norms, and an independent identity.
Changing Nature of Crime: It was important to frame new laws to resolve the modern criminal activities. These include cybercrimes, cryptocurrency fraud, and digital warfare.
Outdated Framework: The colonial-era laws were rigid and did not represent the contemporary Indian Society. They created inefficiencies and uncertainty in the justice system. To resolve this issue, the implementation of new laws was necessary.
Modernizing the Criminal Justice System: The colonial-era laws had a lot of procedural ambiguities and loopholes. Replacing the old laws with the new ones was important to make the criminal justice system more efficient and effective for the common people.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023: A New Dawn

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 replaces the Indian Penal Code of 1860. It introduced a significant change to the Indian criminal law. Earlier, there were around 511 sections in the IPC. The BNS introduced a revised framework with 358 sections. The revision reflects a more streamlined and modernized approach to criminal legislation. Before the implementation of BNS, the Supreme Court and other courts struck down some sections of the Indian Penal Code. These outdated provisions have been removed in the BNS Bill. The new sections were added to resolve emerging issues, including deceitful promises of marriage, sexual intercourse under false pretenses, and other fraudulent activities.

Key Changes in BNS 2023

1. Replacement of IPC Sections: The BNS 2023 replaces several obsolete and redundant provisions of the Indian Penal Code with more relevant and progressive sections. This removes the outdated criminal offenses that were part of the colonial legal framework.

2. Introduction of New Offenses:

The BNS 2023 now criminalizes sexual intercourse under false pretenses of marriage, employment, etc. These new offenses address the existing contemporary societal issues. They ensure that individuals are protected from these deceptive practices.
More stringent laws have been made against mob lynching and gang rapes. The new provisions provide harsher penalties for such crimes.
The BNS 2023 also addresses organized crimes and terrorism. The new laws focus more on National Security within the criminal justice framework.

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3. Changes in Existing Laws:

The BNS 2023 has replaced Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, criminalizing homosexuality. This is a major liberal change made to promote equality and human rights.
Provisions related to adultery have been repealed. The new laws are more gender-neutral.
The laws that criminalize publishing false and misleading information have been modified. The changes ensure that the legal system focuses on the spread of misinformation.
The Sedition Law was just renamed from Rajdroh to Deshdroh. For this change, the retired SC judge, Justice Chelameswar, says that the new criminal laws are like “Old Wine in New Bottles.”

The BNS 2023 aims to fill in the gaps and inefficiencies in the colonial legal framework. It was introduced to offer a justice-based approach to criminal law. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (procedural law) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (evidence law) govern the criminal judicial system with the BNS.

The new laws put more emphasis on modernization and technology to resolve modern issues in society. However, despite these progressive aims, the laws have faced criticism from legal jurists, advocates, professors, etc.

Challenges with the New Criminal Laws

According to the critics, the new criminal laws faced the following challenges:

One of the most debatable changes made in the New Criminal Laws is the extension of police custody. The number of days increased from 15 to 60 days. Many critics argue that this change can lead to increased cases of police misconduct. This includes torture, wrongdoings, and misuse of powers. Advocate Colin Gonsalves stated that the new laws are more Draconian than the colonial-era laws.
Critics argue that the law includes several confusing statements. One such statement is “compromising sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India”. Such statements lack proper definitions, which creates uncertainty. This vagueness raises concerns about the potential misuse of the law to target and suppress particular groups or sets of populations, posing threats to human liberty and dignity.
The new criminal laws also face execution and implementation challenges. People believe provisions such as mandatory videography of police procedures require necessary infrastructure and funds. As law enforcement agencies have limited resources and funds, effectively implementing the laws will be difficult.
The new criminal laws lack a standardized sentencing framework. Many critics believe that this is a lost opportunity to improve equity and consistency within the Indian Criminal Justice System.

Based on the above GD discussion, it can be said that even though the new criminal laws have received criticism and concerns from different people, this change is still a landmark in the history of India and its Criminal Justice System. However, to get better results from the change, it is necessary to make a few changes in the infrastructure development of the criminal justice system. The changes can help the effective and efficient applicability and enforceability of the new laws.

Ultimately, what matters most is whether justice is delivered effectively and promptly. The ultimate motive of any criminal justice system should be centered on justice delivery. It is rightly said that "justice delayed is justice denied". Therefore, timely delivery of justice is also necessary. If the three new laws are implemented with the right resources and focus, they have the potential to bring speedy and equitable justice in India.

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Nupur Jain