BNS vs IPC: Complete Section Mapping Guide (2026)

India's criminal justice system underwent the most sweeping legislative overhaul since Independence when three landmark codes replaced the colonial-era statutes on 1 July 2024:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 — replaces the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023 — replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023 — replaces the Indian Evidence Act 1872

If you practice criminal law, you are already living with these codes every day. If you don't, you will encounter them the moment a client walks in with an FIR, a bail application, or a trial matter filed after 1 July 2024.

This guide is a practitioner's reference — dense, tabular, and direct. It maps the sections you know by heart to their BNS/BNSS/BSA equivalents, highlights every substantive change that goes beyond renumbering, and closes with practical advice for updating your workflow.

Quick tool: LawCentral's BNS–IPC Code Converter lets you paste any section number and instantly get the equivalent. Use it alongside this guide.

Section pages: Section 318 BNS — cheating, was IPC 420 · Section 483 BNSS — regular bail, was CrPC 439 · all 20 BNS chapters.

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1. Why Mapping Matters — And Why It's More Than Renumbering

The government's stated rationale for the new codes was to decolonise Indian law and introduce modern procedural safeguards. In practice, this means:

1. Most offences survive — the same conduct is criminalised, just under a new section number.
2. Some offences are restructured — ingredients, punishments, or sub-categories changed.
3. New offences were introduced — mob lynching, organised crime, terrorism, and petty organised crime now have standalone provisions.
4. One major offence was effectively repealed — sedition under IPC § 124A has been replaced by a narrower (but arguably still broad) provision under BNS § 152.
5. Procedural timelines are now codified — BNSS imposes statutory deadlines for trials, judgments, and supply of documents that did not exist in CrPC.

Courts are still working through transitional questions: which law governs offences committed before 1 July 2024 but tried after? The general principle is that the substantive law at the time of the offence applies (IPC for pre-July 2024 acts), while procedure follows the new code unless a saved provision applies. Always verify the FIR date before advising on applicable sections.

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2. IPC to BNS: Key Section Mappings

2.1 Offences Against the Person

These are the sections that appear most frequently in trial courts. Memorise the mapping — your clients will ask you to explain why the FIR says "Section 103 BNS" when they expected "Section 302 IPC."

New provision — Mob Lynching:

BNS § 103(2) is entirely new. It criminalises murder by a group of five or more persons on grounds of race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language, or personal belief. Punishment: death or life imprisonment. There was no equivalent in the IPC — mob lynching prosecutions under IPC required cobbling together §§ 302, 149, and 34.

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2.2 Property Offences

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2.3 Offences Against the State

Key Change — Sedition (§ 124A IPC omitted; § 152 BNS is new):

Section 124A IPC punished exciting "disaffection" towards the government — a phrase so broad that colonial courts used it against Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi. The Supreme Court kept it in abeyance in S.G. Vombatkere v. Union of India (2022) while the government re-examined it.

In its place, BNS § 152 creates a new offence of "acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India." The new section punishes — by life imprisonment or up to 7 years — anyone who, by words, signs, or visible representation:

• excites or attempts to excite secession, armed rebellion, or subversive activities; or
• encourages feelings of separatist activities; or
• endangers the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India.

Critically, § 152 adds the words "purposely or knowingly" — introducing a mens rea requirement absent in § 124A. Whether this meaningfully narrows the provision's scope remains contested.

New provisions in BNS:

• § 111 — Organised Crime: Covers criminal syndicates, extortion, contract killing, cybercrime, and trafficking by gangs. Punishment: death or life imprisonment (if killing involved); 5 years to life (others).
• § 112 — Petty Organised Crime: Covers theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised selling of tickets, unauthorised betting or gambling, and selling of public examination question papers by a member of a group or gang. Punishment: 1 to 7 years.
• § 113 — Terrorist Acts: A standalone anti-terrorism provision in the general penal code. Punishment: death or life imprisonment where death results; 5 years to life otherwise. Previously, terrorism was handled under special laws such as UAPA.

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2.4 Document and Communication Offences

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3. Community Service — A New Punishment Category

BNS introduces community service as a new category of punishment (§ 4(f), alongside death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and fine). It applies to minor offences such as:

• Attempt to commit suicide to compel a public servant (§ 226)
• Public intoxication (§ 355)
• Defamation in certain cases (§ 356)
• Petty theft (first conviction, property under ₹5,000, on return of the property) (§ 303(2) proviso)

Community service is not defined in BNS; it is defined in the Explanation to § 23 BNSS as unpaid work, ordered by the court as punishment, that benefits the community. How it is to be administered is still left largely to courts.

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4. CrPC to BNSS: Critical Procedure Mappings

Procedural changes under BNSS are as important as the substantive changes in BNS. Many affect daily practice: how FIRs are filed, how bail is sought, and how trials run.

Key Procedural Changes Under BNSS:

Zero FIR (§ 173): Information about a cognizable offence may be given at a police station irrespective of the area where the offence was committed. Zero FIR was earlier a practice backed by MHA advisories; it is now statutory.

Electronic FIR: Complainants can file an FIR electronically. The FIR must be signed by the person within 3 days of electronic submission.

Mandatory Forensic Evidence (§ 176(3)): For offences punishable with 7 or more years, a forensic expert must visit the crime scene to collect evidence, with the process videographed, from a date the State notifies within five years. Where a State has no forensic facility, it must notify the use of another State's facility.

Video Recording of Statements (§ 180, § 183): Witness statements to police (§ 180(3)) and confessions and statements recorded by a Magistrate (§ 183) may also be recorded by audio-video electronic means, the latter in the presence of the accused's advocate. This creates both an evidentiary safeguard and a compliance burden for police.

Judgment Timelines (§ 258): In a Sessions trial, judgment must be given within 30 days of completion of arguments, extendable to 45 days for reasons recorded in writing. Enforcement mechanisms remain to be seen.

Trial Completion Timelines: BNSS § 346 limits a party to two adjournments where circumstances are beyond its control, with reasons recorded. Read with § 258, these provisions create a framework for time-bound trials that, if implemented, will fundamentally change docket management.

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5. Evidence Act to BSA: Key Mappings

The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA) largely restates the Evidence Act but modernises the treatment of electronic records — a critical update given the volume of digital evidence in modern litigation.

Key Change — Electronic Evidence (§ 63 BSA vs § 65B Evidence Act):

Section 65B of the Evidence Act was the source of endless litigation — primarily over the requirement for a "certificate" from a responsible official. The Supreme Court in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar v. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (2020) held the certificate mandatory for secondary evidence of electronic records.

BSA § 63 retains the certificate requirement and changes it in three ways:

1. It expressly covers semiconductor memory and communication devices (such as phones), not just computers.
2. The certificate must be in the form specified in the Schedule, and must be signed by the person in charge of the device or of the relevant activities and by an expert.
3. It must be submitted along with the electronic record each time the record is submitted for admission.

Whether this reduces electronic evidence rejections or adds a new compliance step (the expert's part of the certificate) is still being worked out.

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6. Practical Tips for Criminal Law Practitioners

6.1 Always Cite Both Sections During the Transition Period

Courts and clients will ask. For offences committed before 1 July 2024, the substantive law is the IPC, even if the FIR is registered later; investigations, inquiries, trials and appeals pending on that date continue under the CrPC (§ 531(2)(a) BNSS). For offences committed after, it's BNS/BNSS/BSA. When writing submissions or opinions, state the applicable code, the date of the alleged offence and the date of FIR at the top of the document. Avoid ambiguity.

Example: "The accused is charged under § 103(1) BNS (corresponding to § 302 IPC) for an offence alleged to have been committed on [date after 1 July 2024]."

6.2 Check Substantive Changes, Not Just Numbers

Several BNS sections are not mere renumbering. Before advising on punishment, ingredients, or defences, verify:

• Has the punishment changed (e.g., § 304/105, where Part I now has a 5-year minimum)?
• Have new sub-clauses been added (e.g., § 106(2) for hit-and-run)?
• Is there a new mens rea requirement (e.g., § 152 vs § 124A)?
• Does a new provision apply instead of the old one (e.g., § 111 organised crime vs cobbling together IPC conspiracy + dacoity sections)?

Use LawCentral's Section Search to pull the full text of BNS/BNSS/BSA sections alongside their IPC counterparts.

6.3 New Offences Have No Precedent — Be Cautious

Sections 111 (organised crime), 112 (petty organised crime), and 113 (terrorism in BNS) are new. Settled appellate interpretation is still limited. Arguments about ingredients, defences, and bail will be largely first-impression for the next several years. Research thoroughly and build your own internal notes — see how to research Supreme Court judgments and AI legal research in India for research workflows that work.

6.4 Update Your Templates and Precedents

If you use standard templates for bail applications, charge sheets, complaints, or written arguments — update the section numbers now. A bail application citing § 438 CrPC for a post-July 2024 matter signals carelessness to the bench. Update references to § 482 BNSS for anticipatory bail and § 528 BNSS for High Court inherent powers.

6.5 Keep a Converter Handy

This guide covers the most commonly used sections, but the full IPC has 511 sections, CrPC has 484, and Evidence Act has 167. You will encounter obscure provisions. Keep LawCentral's BNS–IPC Code Converter bookmarked — paste any old or new section number and get the equivalent instantly, with notes on changes.

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7. Summary Reference Card

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The transition to BNS, BNSS, and BSA is the single largest change to Indian criminal law in 150 years. The mapping is mostly straightforward, but the substantive changes — new offences, new punishments, procedural deadlines, and the sedition overhaul — require careful attention. Use this guide as a starting point, verify every section against the full statutory text, and build your practice around the new codes systematically.

For AI-assisted legal research on BNS/BNSS/BSA provisions and case law, see AI Legal Research in India: A Complete Guide.