Repealed Offences: A Shift from the IPC to the BNS
The BNS represents a significant departure from the IPC, repealing various offences that were present in the older legislation. a list of these offences of IPC are repealed in the BNS, which can be grouped into several following categories:
1. Offences Related to Colonial Governance:
- Section 14 (Servant of Government): This definition, rooted in the colonial administration, is no longer relevant in the context of modern India.
- Section 18 (India): This section, defining the territorial scope of the IPC, is superseded by the BNS’s own provisions on jurisdiction.
- Section 53A (Construction of reference to transportation): “Transportation” as a punishment, a remnant of colonial penal practices, has been replaced by imprisonment in contemporary Indian law. This section, addressing the interpretation of older legal references to transportation, is therefore obsolete.
2. Offences Deemed Obsolete or Inappropriate:
- Section 124A (Sedition): This controversial provision, often criticized for its potential misuse against dissent, has been removed. The “BNS overview.pdf” highlights this change and mentions the Supreme Court’s interim order suspending its use.
- Section 153AA (Punishment for knowingly carrying arms in any procession): This section might have been considered overly broad or outdated in the current context, and its removal possibly reflects a shift in the approach towards regulating public gatherings.
- Sections 236, 237, and 238 (Offences related to counterfeit coins): These sections, focusing on the counterfeiting of coins, may be less relevant in a modern economy increasingly reliant on digital transactions. The consolidation of various counterfeiting offences in the BNS (Sections 178-180) may have rendered these sections redundant.
- Sections 264, 265, 266, and 267 (Offences related to false weights and measures): The repeal of these provisions could be attributed to their limited practical application in modern commerce or the existence of more comprehensive regulations under specific laws dealing with weights and measures.
- Section 309 (Attempt to commit suicide): The decriminalization of suicide attempts reflects a more humane and compassionate approach, recognizing suicide as a mental health issue rather than a criminal act.
- Section 310 and 311 (Thug): These provisions, targeting the historical phenomenon of “Thugs” (organized gangs of robbers and murderers), are no longer applicable in contemporary India.
- Section 377 (Unnatural offences): This section, previously used to criminalize same-sex relationships, has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Navtej Singh Johar case (2018). Its removal from the BNS reflects this legal development.
- Section 444 (Lurking house-trespass by night): This specific form of trespass, emphasizing nighttime intrusion, may have been considered redundant given the broader provisions on house-trespass in the BNS (Section 330).
- Section 497 (Adultery): The repeal of this section, which only penalized men for adultery and treated women as property, aligns with gender equality principles and the recognition of women’s autonomy.
3. Other Repealed Provisions:
- Section 46 (Definition of “death”): This definition, likely considered self-explanatory, is omitted from the BNS.
- Section 50 (Definition of “section”): This provision, defining the term “section” within the IPC itself, becomes unnecessary in the BNS due to the structural changes in the new legislation.
Overall, the repeal of these IPC offences demonstrates the BNS’s effort to:
- Modernize the penal code: Removing provisions that are outdated, irrelevant, or inconsistent with contemporary values and legal developments.
- Streamline and simplify the law: Eliminating redundant or overly specific offences that can be covered by more general provisions.
- Promote a more just and equitable legal framework: Addressing discriminatory or outdated provisions that infringe on fundamental rights.
It’s important to note that the repeal of these offences does not necessarily imply that similar conduct is now entirely lawful. The BNS may contain new or revised provisions that address similar harms in a different manner or under a different classification of offences.
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