Concept:
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) is one of the three major criminal law reforms enacted to modernize India's criminal justice system.
It replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), which had governed criminal procedure for nearly five decades.
The three new criminal law statutes are:
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS)
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA)
Step 1: Enactment and Notification.
The BNSS received Presidential assent in December 2023. However, enactment alone does not make a statute operational.
The Central Government must notify a commencement date specifying when the provisions become enforceable.
Step 2: Date of commencement.
The Government of India officially notified:
\[
\boxed{\text{1 July 2024}}
\]
as the date on which the BNSS came into force throughout India.
From this date:
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ceased to operate prospectively.
• Criminal investigations and procedures became governed by BNSS.
• Several technology-driven reforms became operational.
Step 3: Major objectives of BNSS.
The new legislation seeks to:
• Speed up criminal trials.
• Increase the use of digital technology.
• Introduce time-bound investigations.
• Facilitate electronic evidence and electronic proceedings.
• Improve victim-centric justice.
• Reduce procedural delays.
Step 4: Analysis of options.
• Option (A): January 1, 2024 was not the notified commencement date. Incorrect.
• Option (B): July 1, 2024 is the official commencement date. Correct.
• Option (C): August 15, 2023 predates the enactment itself. Incorrect.
• Option (D): December 25, 2023 is not the notified date of enforcement. Incorrect.
July 1, 2024 marks the beginning of India's new criminal procedural framework under the BNSS.