A brief comparative study of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Indian penal code, 1860

Salmond1 defined the law as “The body of principles recognised and applied by the State in the administration of justice.” But Keeton2 criticised this definition by saying, “What has been considered to be just at one time has frequently not been so considered at another time”. Indeed, both jurist are true in their sense, but one thing is common that law is principles which govern groups, society, state or nation. According to Keeton's definition, law is dynamic; it has a changing nature. Change is always required, and sometimes it is not a requirement, but it becomes a necessity. In India, some criminal laws are very old and require changes to make some acts punishable which are presently not covered under the definition of crime, and some acts need to be removed from the definition of crime, which, in the prevalent social development no more a criminal acts. Presently, the government of India has introduced three new major criminal laws in place of the old laws, which is a commendable job. One of these laws is The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. In the present research, the author tries to highlight the major changes made by the law, hereinafter called BNS, 2023.