PROVISIONS UNDER BNS
The government highlighted key provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which came into force on 1 July 2024 replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860
For the first time in India's history, mob lynching has been explicitly codified as a criminal offence under Section 103(2) of the BNS
Section 103(2) makes it punishable by death or life imprisonment when a group of five or more persons acting in concert murders someone on the grounds of race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language, or personal belief
The BNS also introduces several victim-centric reforms: online FIR filing, Zero FIR (at any police station), mandatory forensic expert involvement in serious offences, and audio-video recording of victim statements
Section 117(4) separately addresses grievous hurt caused by a mob
BNS Section 103 — Mob Lynching as a Distinct Offence
Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, mob lynching was not a standalone crime. Perpetrators were prosecuted under general provisions: Section 302 (murder), Section 304 (culpable homicide), Section 147 (rioting), or Section 149 (common object of unlawful assembly). These provisions did not capture the hate-driven, collective nature of lynching. Section 103(2) of the BNS, 2023 creates a new category of aggravated murder — where five or more persons acting in concert commit murder on discriminatory grounds — with each member facing death or life imprisonment plus fine.
Key Details
- BNS Section 103(1): punishment for murder — death or life imprisonment (equivalent to IPC Section 302)
- BNS Section 103(2): mob lynching — group of 5+, murder on grounds of race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language, or personal belief; punishment: death or life imprisonment and fine
- BNS Section 117(4): mob grievous hurt — same group composition; punishment: up to 7 years and fine
- Collective liability: every member of the mob is individually liable regardless of their specific act
- IPC replaced by: BNS, 2023 (substantive law); CrPC replaced by BNSS, 2023 (procedural law); Evidence Act replaced by BSA, 2023
The explicit criminalisation of lynching addresses a major jurisprudential gap identified by the Supreme Court in Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018), where the Court had directed Parliament to enact specific anti-lynching legislation.
Three New Criminal Laws — Decolonisation and Reform
The three new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023 — came into force on 1 July 2024. They replaced the IPC (1860), CrPC (1973), and Indian Evidence Act (1872) respectively. The laws are presented as a decolonisation exercise, replacing colonial-era criminal jurisprudence while introducing technological integration and victim-centric approaches.
Key Details
- BNS, 2023 — replaces IPC, 1860 (enacted 1 July 2024); contains 358 sections vs IPC's 511; introduces community service as a minor punishment
- BNSS, 2023 — replaces CrPC, 1973; introduces time-bound trial provisions, e-FIR, mandatory video recording of search and seizure
- BSA, 2023 — replaces Indian Evidence Act, 1872; recognises electronic evidence more comprehensively
- Zero FIR: introduced under BNSS — any police station can register FIR regardless of jurisdiction, transferred later
- Section 152 (BNS) — sedition-equivalent provision: "acts endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India"; replaces IPC Section 124A (sedition); narrower in scope
The mob lynching provision is the most prominent new substantive offence in the BNS, directly responding to documented incidents of hate-driven mob violence that the old IPC framework could not adequately address.
Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018) — Judicial Directive on Lynching
In Tehseen Poonawalla v. Union of India (2018), a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by then CJI Dipak Misra addressed mob lynching as a "horrendous act of mobocracy." The Court issued detailed guidelines for prevention and prosecution pending legislation, including: designation of a nodal officer in each district to prevent and respond to lynching; fast-track courts for lynching cases; punitive action against officers who fail to act; and compensation to victims. The Court strongly directed Parliament to enact a specific law on lynching.
Key Details
- Tehseen Poonawalla v. UoI (2018) — directed states to designate a senior police officer as nodal officer for anti-lynching
- The Court categorised mob lynching as a threat to constitutional values — Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 21 (right to life)
- Despite the 2018 directive, no central anti-lynching legislation was enacted under the IPC era
- BNS Section 103(2) now partially fulfils the legislative mandate — though critics argue a standalone Anti-Lynching Act with broader provisions (compensation, rehabilitation, police accountability) would be more effective
Section 103(2) of the BNS is the legislative response — however partial — to the Supreme Court's 2018 mandate in Tehseen Poonawalla, marking a significant evolution from judicial direction to codified law.
- BNS, BNSS, BSA came into force: 1 July 2024
- BNS Section 103(2): mob of 5+ persons; grounds: race, caste, community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief; punishment: death or life imprisonment + fine
- BNS Section 117(4): mob grievous hurt; punishment: up to 7 years + fine
- IPC, 1860 replaced by BNS, 2023 — 358 sections (vs IPC's 511); 21 new offences added
- Tehseen Poonawalla v. UoI (2018): SC directed anti-lynching legislation; BNS partially fulfils this
- Zero FIR (BNSS): complaint registered at any police station regardless of jurisdiction