Author Details:-
Sanya Wadhwa 2nd year LLB Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Law University, Jaipur
INTRODUCTION
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) was introduced to replace the archaic old age legal system and to modernise the laws. The old penal system was aimed at suppressing Indians who opposed the British crown. The BNS realigns the criminal code with current societal needs and values, aiming to create a more relevant and fair legal framework for modern India. The new criminal laws aim to enhance justice, security, and accountability within its legal framework. It incorporates some elements from Indian Penal Code (IPC), introduces modifications and new provisions to fortify India’s legal system. Primary sources, such as official legislative texts, and secondary sources, including legal commentaries and scholarly articles, are used for systematic content analysis.
TYPES OF PUNISHMENT
Under Indian Penal Code (IPC), there were 5 types of punishment. Now it has extended to 6 types of punishments under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Section 4 of BNS mentions the punishments to which offenders are liable are- death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment for a specific term, forfeiture of property, fine and community service. Community service is the newly added punishment to this Sanhita.
- Death – The punishment of death which is also known as capital punishment. Rarest of the rare offences are given this punishment. Death penalty means punishing a person with a death sentence. Some of the examples are- murder, rape, terrorism etc. In India it is the highest legal penalty of crimes and is not executed frequently, rarely such punishment is given when the offence is grave. It is also known as state sanctioned punishment for a crime.
- Life Imprisonment- The punishment of life imprisonment is the second gravest form of punishment under BNS. It is a legal penalty authorised by governments all over the world as a way to punish criminals for the rest of their lives. However, in some cases life imprisonment doesn’t mean staying in the prison till they die. The specified term is often around 20 years after which the person is eligible for parole, depending upon the seriousness of the crime.
- Imprisonment- The punishment of imprisonment is the most common punishment for various offences. The duration of the imprisonment is decided by the court depending upon the seriousness and nature of the crime.
There are two types of imprisonment-
- Rigorous Imprisonment- The punishment of rigorous imprisonment is given for the more serious offences. This involves living in the prison for the given time period and moreover must perform some tasks like construction, mining, making furniture, clothes and other kinds of labour work. This adds an extra level of physical work along with imprisonment.
- Simple Imprisonment- The punishment of simple imprisonment is given for the less serious offences. This involves only confinement, i.e. living in the prison for the given period of time without any extra labour work.
- Forfeiture of Property- The punishment of forfeiture of property is a loss of property as a result of wrongdoing. The government seizes all the assets or property of the convicted person, which can be movable or immovable. As an example is section 154 wherein committing depredation in foreign state territories at peace with the Indian Government is punished with forfeiture of property used in such act.
- Fine- The punishment of fine is a monetary punishment. This is imposed for the less serious offences. This punishment is the most frequent among all the punishments under BNS. The court may impose a fine as an alternative for imprisonment or can add as an addition to the imprisonment. When there is default in the payment of a fine, the court may pass judgement of sentences.
- Community Service- The punishment of community service is the reformative form of punishment. This is the new addition to types of punishment under BNS. The convicted person is made to perform service which is unpaid and for the community. This is given to offenders of minor crimes where there are chances of reformation. Some of the examples could be- planting more and more trees, cleaning local parks, assisting charitable organisations and many more.
IPC vs BNS
Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) are foundational criminal laws in India, but BNS introduces modifications to outdated colonial-era IPC. The primary differences between both of them are-
- Historical Context and Objectives-
Indian Penal Code(IPC): It was enacted in 1860, primarily by Lord Macaulay to impose British legal principles on a diverse Indian population. The primary objective is to maintain uniform law and order in a colonial context.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS): It was enacted in 2023, to replace the old legal system of India. It realigns the criminal code with current societal needs and values. It ensures that laws reflect a more human centric approach providing justice to all.
- Structural Differences:
Indian Penal Code(IPC): The structure of IPC is outdated and has largely remained the same since its inception, containing 511 sections. However, some amendments have been made.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS): It reorganises the structure, making it more streamlined by reducing its sections from 511 to 356. It groups the offences in a more broader and logical way rather than placing them differently.
- Focus on Specific Offences:
Indian Penal Code(IPC): It covers a wide range of traditional offences, but its effectiveness reduces against modern crimes such as cybercrimes, gender based crimes, terrorism and threats etc. It faces difficulty while handling the complexities of the digital era.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS): It modernises the old legal system with some modifications with respect to the modern societal needs and values. BNS redefines and adds specific sections to add crimes that IPC could not cover.
- Penalties and Punishments:
Indian Penal Code(IPC): The IPC traditionally relies on punitive measures rather than any reformative measures. It focuses more on harsh punishments where one has to spend their lives in prison without emphasising on the offender’s reformation.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita(BNS): It focuses on both punitive and reformative measures. BNS laid down provisions that focused more on the reformation or offender’s rehabilitation rather than solely punishing them. Community service as a punishment is one example.
CONCLUSION
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is a modern reform over Indian Penal Code(IPC) which realigns colonial era legal system to a legal system with respect to modern societal values. It aims towards reformative measures which helps offenders to reform themselves along with the punishment given to them. It organises laws more clearly and broadly under one heading making it easily accessible. Moreover, it adds the crimes of today’s digital era that were not adequate in IPC such as – cybercrime, gender based crime, threats and terrorist acts etc. This new system makes the justice system more effective and fair. Overall, BNS is a step toward a more balanced legal system in India.
ENDNOTES
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/juscrp4&div=132&id=&page=
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