On 1 July 2024 three of the oldest statutes on the Indian books were replaced. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 became the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 became the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 became the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Almost every section number changed. Two years on, the practical consequence is still felt daily: a client arrives with a notice citing one numbering, a judgment cites another, and a search for the provision returns results written under the old code.
Why the numbers moved
The three new statutes are not amendments. They are fresh enactments that repeal and replace, and they were reorganised rather than renumbered in place. The BNS groups offences differently from the IPC — offences against the human body come earlier, offences against women and children are gathered into a dedicated chapter — so the sequence shifted throughout.
Substantively, a great deal survived intact. Much of the case law decided under the old provisions continues to apply, because the language of many sections was carried across with little or no change. Where a judgment interprets words that still appear in the new statute, that judgment still governs. What has changed is where you find the words.
How to use this table
Every pair below has been checked against at least two independent sources. Where we could not verify a mapping twice, we have left it out rather than guess — a wrong section number in a pleading is worse than a gap you know about. The tables are therefore a working selection of the provisions that come up most often, not a complete concordance.
Always verify before you file
For a complete and authoritative comparison, use the official comparative charts published by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Police Research and Development, and read the section in the bare Act itself. Cite the provision you have actually read.
Criminal procedure: CrPC to BNSS
This is the table that matters most in day-to-day practice, because procedure is what a litigant collides with first.
| Subject | CrPC, 1973 | BNSS, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of appearance in place of arrest | 41A | 35 |
| Summons to produce a document or thing | 91 | 94 |
| Maintenance of wife, children and parents | 125 | 144 |
| Enforcement of a maintenance order | 128 | 147 |
| Information in a cognizable case (FIR) | 154 | 173 |
| Direction to police to investigate | 156(3) | 175(3) |
| Recording of confessions and statements | 164 | 183 |
| Procedure when investigation is not completed in 24 hours | 167 | 187 |
| Police report on completion of investigation | 173 | 193 |
| Release of an undertrial who has served part of the maximum | 436A | 479 |
| Bail in a non-bailable offence | 437 | 480 |
| Anticipatory bail | 438 | 482 |
| Special powers of the High Court and Sessions Court as to bail | 439 | 483 |
| Inherent powers of the High Court (quashing) | 482 | 528 |
Two of these deserve a note.
The 438 / 482 swap is the one that catches people out. Anticipatory bail was Section 438 CrPC and is now Section 482 BNSS. But 482 was, under the old Code, the High Court’s inherent power to quash — which is now Section 528 BNSS. So “a 482 petition” means something completely different depending on which statute the speaker has in mind. When you read an older note, check which code it is referring to.
Section 35 BNSS carries the Arnesh Kumar directions. In Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014) 8 SCC 273 the Supreme Court held that for offences punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, police must not arrest automatically; they must record reasons and otherwise issue a notice of appearance. That notice procedure was Section 41A CrPC and is now Section 35 BNSS. Attending on such a notice remains the single strongest fact available in a later bail or quashing application.
Substantive offences: IPC to BNS
| Offence | IPC, 1860 | BNS, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Dowry death | 304B | 80 |
| Cruelty by husband or his relatives | 498A | 85 (cruelty defined in 86) |
| Punishment for murder | 302 | 103 |
| Attempt to murder | 307 | 109 |
| Voluntarily causing hurt | 323 | 115(2) |
| Hurt by dangerous weapons or means | 324 | 118(1) |
| Grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means | 326 | 118(2) |
| Kidnapping | 363 | 137 |
| Rape | 376 | 64 |
| Criminal breach of trust | 406 | 316(2) |
| Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property | 420 | 318(4) |
| Criminal intimidation | 506 | 351 |
Note how far the offences against women and children moved. Rape went from Section 376 to Section 64, and dowry death from 304B to 80, because the BNS gathers these into an earlier, dedicated chapter. A person searching for “376” in the new statute will land somewhere entirely unrelated.
Evidence: IEA to BSA
| Subject | Evidence Act, 1872 | BSA, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Confession caused by inducement, threat or promise | 24, 28, 29 | 22 |
| Confession to police; discovery of fact | 25, 27 | 23 |
| Statements by a person who cannot be called (dying declaration) | 32 | 26 |
| Opinion of experts | 45 | 39 |
| Legal effect of electronic and digital records | 65A | 61 |
| Admissibility of electronic records and the certificate | 65B | 63 |
| Who may testify (competency of witnesses) | 118 | 124 |
| Accomplice evidence | 133 | 138 |
The move most likely to affect a live matter is Section 65B to Section 63. The certificate requirement for electronic evidence survives, but the form of the certificate has changed and the BSA schedule now contemplates additional signature and verification requirements. If you are relying on WhatsApp messages, call detail records, CCTV footage or bank statements downloaded from a portal, prepare the certificate under the new provision and in the prescribed form. A certificate in the old format is an invitation to an objection.
Provisions with no direct counterpart
A small number of provisions were not carried forward at all. Section 497 IPC (adultery) and Section 377 IPC have no equivalent in the BNS, following the Supreme Court decisions that read them down or struck them down. Where an older pleading or a template still refers to them, that reference is now simply wrong rather than merely renumbered.
Which law applies to your case
This is the question clients ask most, and the answer is usually settled by the date rather than by preference.
- Offences committed before 1 July 2024 continue to be tried under the IPC, and the punishment is the punishment provided by the IPC. The BNS does not apply retrospectively to them.
- Proceedings already pending on 1 July 2024 generally continue under the old Code, by virtue of the savings provisions in the new statutes.
- Investigations and prosecutions started on or after 1 July 2024 follow the BNSS.
- A maintenance order passed under Section 125 CrPC before the change remains valid and enforceable; fresh applications are filed under Section 144 BNSS.
The result is that for several years courts will be running old-code and new-code matters side by side, and the same advocate will move between the two in a single morning. That is exactly why a table like this stays on the desk.
What this table is not
It is not a complete concordance, it is not a substitute for reading the section, and it is not advice on any matter. Some IPC provisions were split across several BNS sections and some were merged; a one-to-one row cannot capture that, and in a few places the substance changed along with the number. Before you rely on any provision here, read it in the bare Act and check whether the case law you intend to cite was decided on wording that survived.
If a matter of yours turns on one of these provisions and you would like it looked at, request a consultation.
This is general information, not advice on your case
The law summarised above is stated as at the date of publication and applies differently to different facts. Nothing here creates an advocate–client relationship. If the subject affects you, speak to a lawyer about your own position — request a consultation or call +91 83685 88897.