(1) This Act may be called the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
(2) It shall come into force on such date 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.
Commentary on Section 1
Short Title, Commencement and Application
This Section serves as the introductory provision for the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 :
- Subsection (1): This subsection assigns the official title of the Act – “The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.”
- Subsection (2): The Central Government holds the authority to determine the commencement date of the Act through a notification published in the Official Gazette. This allows for a phased implementation, if necessary. Different provisions within the Sanhita can have separate commencement dates.
- Subsection (3): This subsection establishes the BNS as the primary source for criminal law in India. It clarifies that any act or omission violating the provisions of this Act will be punishable under the BNS, superseding any other applicable laws.
- Subsection (4): This subsection deals with a specific situation: what happens if an Indian commits a crime outside India? Before the BNS, there might have been other laws that allowed the Indian government to try the culprit for a crime committed in another country, but now the BNS will be the primary law to decide punishment instead. It will basically adjudicate said crime as if it had happened in India and decide the punishment based on its own provisions.
- Subsection (5): This subsection expands the jurisdiction of the BNS to cover offences committed :
- by an Indian citizen outside India falls under the purview of the BNS.
- on any ship or aircraft registered in India, irrespective of its location, are punishable under the BNS.
- As cyber crimes perpetrated from outside India that target computer systems located within India.
The Explanation clarifies that “offence” in this context refers to any act committed outside India that would be considered a crime under the BNS if committed within India..
- Subsection (6): This subsection clarifies that the BNS does not override specific laws dealing with offences committed by military personnel or special/local laws enacted for specific purposes.