Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
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.
Why this exists
This section performs the essential 'housekeeping' functions any criminal code needs: naming itself, explaining how and when it becomes operative, and defining its jurisdictional reach. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, 1860, and this section largely mirrors the IPC's original Sections 1-4, updated to explicitly include offences against computer resources located in India, reflecting modern concerns about cybercrime committed from abroad. The extraterritorial provisions ensure India can prosecute its citizens, and offences on its ships, aircraft, or against its digital infrastructure, wherever the wrongdoing physically occurs.
How courts read it
Courts under the old IPC (whose Sections 3 and 4 this section closely follows) consistently held that Indian citizens could be tried in India for offences committed abroad, as illustrated by cases involving murder or fraud committed by Indians overseas who were later found in India. The 'targeting a computer resource located in India' clause is new to the BNS and has not yet been tested by higher courts, but it is expected to draw on principles from the Information Technology Act, 2000 regarding cross-border cybercrime jurisdiction.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Indian criminal law only applies to things that happen inside India's borders.
Fact: Section 1(5) specifically extends the law to Indian citizens anywhere in the world, to anyone on an Indian ship or aircraft, and to anyone targeting a computer resource located in India, even from abroad. - Myth: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced all special laws, including military discipline laws.
Fact: Sub-section (6) clearly preserves laws punishing mutiny and desertion in the armed forces, as well as other special or local laws, which continue to operate alongside the Sanhita. - Myth: The whole Sanhita came into force the moment it was passed by Parliament.
Fact: Sub-section (2) makes clear that the Central Government had to separately notify the date(s) on which the law, or its different parts, would actually take effect.