The Ministry of Home Affairs has reported implementation progress for the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The reform matters because criminal law changes are not limited to new statutory text; they also require police training, digital systems, forensic support, and coordinated action by States and Union Territories.
The implementation story is important for UPSC because criminal justice in India is a shared administrative space. The Union government can provide frameworks, funding, and technology, but field-level enforcement depends heavily on State and Union Territory capacity.
What happened now
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the new criminal laws came into force throughout India from 1 July 2024. States and Union Territories have since taken steps such as issuing notifications and rules, adopting digital applications, and carrying out capacity building for stakeholders.
The Bureau of Police Research and Development has conducted capacity-building programmes and webinars across all 36 States and Union Territories. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that 83,740 officers and stakeholders from the five pillars of the criminal justice system, including Master Trainers, have been trained since 2024.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also said that 110 e-learning courses have been hosted on the iGOT Karmayogi platform, and 76 of those courses relate to the new criminal laws.
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