Section 1, Short title, Commencement and Application, The Bharitya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)

Section 1. Short title, commencement and application.

––(1) This Act may be called the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

(2) It shall come into force on such date¹ as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Sanhita.

(3) Every person shall be liable to punishment under this Sanhita and not otherwise for every act or omission contrary to the provisions thereof, of which he shall be guilty within India.

(4) Any person liable, by any law for the time being in force in India, to be tried for an offence committed beyond India shall be dealt with according to the provisions of this Sanhita for any act committed beyond India in the same manner as if such act had been committed within India.

(5) The provisions of this Sanhita shall also apply to any offence committed by— (a) any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India; (b) any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be; (c) any person in any place without and beyond India committing offence targeting a computer resource located in India.

Explanation.—In this section, the word “offence” includes every act committed outside India which, if committed in India, would be punishable under this Sanhita.

Illustration.

A, who is a citizen of India, commits a murder in any place without and beyond India.

He can be tried and convicted of murder in any place in India in which he may be found.

(6) Nothing in this Sanhita shall affect the provisions of any Act for punishing mutiny and desertion of officers, soldiers, sailors or airmen in the service of the Government of India or the provisions of any special or local law.

Comments

This section provides short title, commencement and application of the Act. It came on force on 1st July, 2024. Except Section 106(2) which provides Hit and Run due to heavy protest by truck drivers all over the country. The Act provides the Act will apply to offence committed by any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India, It will apply to any person on Indian registered ship or aircraft anywhere in the world. It will apply to any person targeting computer resource located in India without and beyond India.

The section covers various provisions which was earlier there is five sections. So, it summarizes and make the provision crisp and concise.

Corresponding Section

Section 1 BNS, 2023 corresponds with the Section 1 to 5 of IPC, 1860.

1. W.e.f. 01.07.2024, except the provision of sub-section (2) of section 106 vide S.O. 850(E), published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Part II, Section 3(ii), dated 23.02.2024. ↩︎