The three new criminal law Bills have generated concerns, questions and commentary on the changes that have been made. There are also questions about how different the Bills are compared to existing codes and laws.The Union home minister, Amit Shah, when introducing the Bills, said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (‘New Penal Bill’), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (‘New Procedure Bill’) and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 (‘New Evidence Bill’), were a bid to escape “colonial legacy”. While their existing counterparts – the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act – were legislated by the British Indian government, changes have been made by parliament since Independence.The National Law University’s Project 39A has compiled a detailed comparison of each of these Bills with what they propose to replace. The comparison answers many questions about what has been borrowed, what has been changed and what new provisions have been inserted.An annotated comparison of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by Project 39A.An annotated comparison of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 by Project 39A.An annotated comparison of the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: by Project 39A.
