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BNSS, 2023 vs Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Comparative Analysis, Section Mapping and Correspondence Table

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 did not rewrite Indian criminal procedure. It reproduced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in substance, renumbered every section, dropped a small group of obsolete and institutional provisions, altered a larger group in matters of detail, and added a layer of technology, timelines and victim entitlements over the result. A comparison of the two statutes is therefore chiefly an exercise in mapping: knowing what corresponds to what, where the numbering shifts and why, and which provisions have no counterpart on the other side.

This topic supplies that map. It deals with the structural relationship between the two statutes and the correspondence of chapters and sections. The substantive changes to provisions that exist in both, and the provisions that are entirely new, are treated separately in the two topics that follow.

Figure 1: The structural arithmetic of the two statutes

1. Structural Comparison

Element	Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973	Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Citation	Act 2 of 1974	Act 46 of 2023
Long title	An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Criminal Procedure	Identical in terms
Assent	25 January 1974	25 December 2023
Commencement	1 April 1974	1 July 2024, by S.O. 848(E) dated 23 February 2024
Immediate basis	Forty-first Report of the Law Commission of India, 1969	Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws, 2020; Report of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, 2023
Sections	484	531
Chapters	37	39
Schedules	Two: classification of offences; forms	Two: classification of offences; forms
Extent provision	Extends to the whole of India, with the exception of Chapters VIII, X and XI for Nagaland and the tribal areas	No positive extent clause; section 1(2) states only that the Sanhita, save Chapters IX, XI and XII, does not apply to Nagaland and the tribal areas
Definition of India	Section 2(f)	Omitted
Commencement mechanism	Fixed by the Code itself	Left to notification under section 1(3)
Classes of criminal court	Sessions, Judicial Magistrates of the first and second class, Metropolitan Magistrates, Executive Magistrates	Sessions, Judicial Magistrates of the first and second class, Executive Magistrates
Incorporating provision for definitions	None	Section 2(2) imports the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Government statements accompanying the Bills put the exercise at roughly one hundred and seventy-seven provisions modified, nine sections newly added, and fourteen omitted, with a larger number of new sub-sections and provisos. Secondary sources give different figures. The variance arises entirely from whether a proviso, an Explanation or a sub-section is treated as a separate provision. What is not in dispute is that the architecture of the 1973 Code survives intact.

2. What Is Unchanged

It is more useful to begin with the continuity than with the differences, because the continuity is the larger part and it is what makes the older case law usable.

The classification of offences. Cognizable and non-cognizable, bailable and non-bailable, each defined by reference to the First Schedule, exactly as under sections 2(c), 2(l) and 2(a) of the 1973 Code.
The division between summons cases and warrant cases, turning on whether the offence is punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment exceeding two years, and the four separate trial procedures that follow from it.
The machinery of investigation. First information, the power of the police to investigate a cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate, the case diary, the report on completion of investigation, and the power of further investigation.
The structure of cognizance. Cognizance on a police report, on a complaint or on information received otherwise; the examination of the complainant; the postponement of process; committal to the Court of Session.
The law of charge, including the contents of a charge, the effect of errors, the alteration of a charge, joinder and the doctrine of the minor offence.
The remedial structure. Appeal, reference, revision, transfer, the inherent powers of the High Court, and the confirmation of death sentences.
The preventive and quasi-civil jurisdiction. Security proceedings, maintenance of wives, children and parents, public nuisance, urgent orders and disputes as to immovable property.

Because the substance is retained, a decision on section 154, section 167, section 173, section 197, section 437 or section 482 of the 1973 Code continues to govern the corresponding provision of the Sanhita except to the extent the language has been changed. The practical skill is to know precisely where the language has been changed.

3. Chapter Correspondence

The chapters follow the same sequence of subjects in both statutes. Two chapters that were inserted into the 1973 Code by amendment and carried lettered numbers become full-numbered chapters in the Sanhita, which is what produces the increase from thirty-seven to thirty-nine.

Figure 2: How the chapters of the 1973 Code map onto the chapters of the Sanhita

CrPC, 1973	BNSS, 2023	Subject
I to VII	I to VII	Preliminary; constitution of criminal courts; powers of courts; superior police officers; arrest; processes to compel appearance; processes to compel production
VII-A	VIII	Reciprocal arrangements for assistance and attachment and forfeiture of property
VIII	IX	Security for keeping the peace and for good behaviour
IX	X	Maintenance of wives, children and parents
X	XI	Maintenance of public order and tranquillity
XI	XII	Preventive action of the police
XII	XIII	Information to the police and their powers to investigate
XIII	XIV	Jurisdiction of the criminal courts in inquiries and trials
XIV	XV	Conditions requisite for initiation of proceedings
XV	XVI	Complaints to Magistrates
XVI	XVII	Commencement of proceedings before Magistrates
XVII	XVIII	The charge
XVIII	XIX	Trial before a Court of Session
XIX	XX	Trial of warrant cases by Magistrates
XX	XXI	Trial of summons cases by Magistrates
XXI	XXII	Summary trials
XXI-A	XXIII	Plea bargaining
XXII	XXIV	Attendance of persons confined or detained in prisons
XXIII	XXV	Evidence in inquiries and trials
XXIV	XXVI	General provisions as to inquiries and trials
XXV	XXVII	Accused persons of unsound mind, recast on the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
XXVI	XXVIII	Offences affecting the administration of justice
XXVII	XXIX	The judgment
XXVIII	XXX	Submission of death sentences for confirmation
XXIX	XXXI	Appeals
XXX	XXXII	Reference and revision
XXXI	XXXIII	Transfer of criminal cases
XXXII	XXXIV	Execution, suspension, remission and commutation of sentences
XXXIII	XXXV	Provisions as to bail and bonds
XXXIV	XXXVI	Disposal of property
XXXV	XXXVII	Irregular proceedings
XXXVI	XXXVIII	Limitation for taking cognizance of certain offences
XXXVII	XXXIX	Miscellaneous

4. Section Correspondence Table

The following table maps the provisions that are used most often. It is not exhaustive; the official correspondence table published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development covers every section. Where the Sanhita has changed the substance and not merely the number, the third column says so.

4.1 Preliminary, courts and powers

CrPC	BNSS	Subject and note on change
1	1	Short title, extent and commencement. The positive extent clause is dropped
2	2	Definitions. Regrouped and lettered; new definitions of bail, bond, bail bond, audio-video electronic means and electronic communication; new section 2(2)
4 and 5	4 and 5	Trial of offences under other laws; saving of special and local laws. Unchanged in terms
6	6	Classes of criminal courts. Metropolitan Magistrates removed
9	8	Court of Session. Assistant Sessions Judges removed; new sub-sections (7) and (8)
11 to 15	9 to 13	Courts of Judicial Magistrates, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Special Judicial Magistrates, local jurisdiction, subordination
20 to 23	14 to 17	Executive Magistrates and their jurisdiction and subordination
24 and 25	18 and 19	Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors
25A	20	Directorate of Prosecution, substantially expanded with graded monitoring functions
26	21	Courts by which offences are triable
28 and 29	22 and 23	Sentences. Magistrates’ fine ceilings raised and community service added
31	25	Sentence on conviction of several offences. New cap of twenty years on consecutive sentences

4.2 Arrest and processes

CrPC	BNSS	Subject and note on change
41	35	When police may arrest without warrant. New sub-section (7) on the infirm and those above sixty
41A	35(3) to (6)	Notice of appearance in lieu of arrest
41B	36	Procedure of arrest and duties of the arresting officer
41C	37	Control room; now a designated police officer in every district and police station
41D	38	Right to meet an advocate of choice during interrogation
46	43	Arrest how made. New sub-section (3) permitting handcuffs in specified categories
50	47	Person arrested to be informed of grounds of arrest and of the right to bail
50A	48	Obligation to inform a relative or friend, and now also the designated police officer
53, 53A, 54	51, 52, 53	Medical examination. Section 53 BNSS makes examination of every arrested person mandatory
54A	54	Identification of the person arrested; new proviso for a disabled identifier, recorded audio-visually
57	58	Person arrested not to be detained more than twenty-four hours
61 to 69	63 to 71	Summons: form, service, service on corporations, service by electronic communication
70 to 81	72 to 83	Warrants of arrest
82 and 83	84 and 85	Proclamation and attachment of property of a person absconding
—	86	Identification and attachment of property of a proclaimed person situated abroad. New
91 to 93	94 to 96	Summons to produce; letters; search warrants
—	105	Recording of search and seizure by audio-video electronic means. New
102	106	Power of a police officer to seize certain property
—	107	Attachment, forfeiture or restoration of the proceeds of crime. New
105A to 105L	111 to 124	Reciprocal arrangements for assistance and for attachment and forfeiture

4.3 Investigation

CrPC	BNSS	Subject and note on change
154	173	Information in cognizable cases. Zero FIR and electronic FIR given statutory form; new sub-section (3) on preliminary inquiry
155	174	Information as to non-cognizable cases
156	175	Police officer’s power to investigate a cognizable case; new provision for the Magistrate to consider the officer’s submissions before ordering investigation
157	176	Procedure for investigation. New sub-section (3) on forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven years or more
159	178	Power to hold an investigation or preliminary inquiry
160	179	Power to require attendance of witnesses
161	180	Examination of witnesses by the police; statements may be recorded by audio-video electronic means
162	181	Statements to the police and the use that may be made of them
164	183	Recording of confessions and statements
164A	184	Medical examination of the victim of rape; report to be forwarded within seven days
166A and 166B	112 and 113	Letters of request, relocated to Chapter VIII
167	187	Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours. The police custody window is altered
172	192	Case diary
173	193	Report on completion of investigation. New duty to inform the informant or victim of progress within ninety days; further investigation time-bound
174 and 176	194 and 196	Police inquiry into suicide and unnatural death; magisterial inquiry into custodial death

4.4 Cognizance, charge and trial

CrPC	BNSS	Subject and note on change
177 to 189	197 to 209	Jurisdiction of the criminal courts. Section 202 now covers offences committed by electronic communication
190	210	Cognizance of offences by Magistrates
193	213	Cognizance of offences by the Court of Session
197	218	Prosecution of Judges and public servants. New proviso: sanction to be decided within one hundred and twenty days, failing which it is deemed granted
199	222	Prosecution for defamation
200	223	Examination of the complainant. New proviso: the accused must be given an opportunity of being heard before cognizance is taken
204	227	Issue of process
207 and 208	230 and 231	Supply of copies to the accused, now within fourteen days and also to the victim
209	232	Committal to the Court of Session, now to be completed within ninety days, extendable to one hundred and eighty
211 to 224	234 to 247	The charge and the joinder of charges
225 to 237	248 to 260	Trial before a Court of Session. Discharge within sixty days of committal (s.250), charge within sixty days of the first hearing (s.251), judgment within thirty days of arguments (s.258)
238 to 250	261 to 273	Trial of warrant cases. Charge within sixty days (s.263)
251 to 259	274 to 282	Trial of summons cases
260 to 265	283 to 288	Summary trials. Property value threshold raised from two hundred rupees to twenty thousand
265A to 265L	289 to 300	Plea bargaining
272 to 299	307 to 336	Evidence in inquiries and trials; commissions. Section 336 expands the evidence of a successor public servant or expert
300 to 327	337 to 366	General provisions as to inquiries and trials. Section 346 limits a party to two adjournments
317	355	Inquiry or trial in the absence of the accused
—	356	Inquiry, trial or judgment in absentia of a proclaimed offender. New

4.5 Judgment, appeal, execution, bail and the closing chapters

CrPC	BNSS	Subject and note on change
353 to 365	392 to 406	The judgment. Section 392(4) requires a copy to be uploaded within seven days
357	395	Order to pay compensation
357A	396	Victim compensation scheme
357B and 357C	397	Treatment of victims and free first aid
—	398	Witness protection scheme. New
366 to 371	407 to 412	Submission of death sentences for confirmation
372 to 394	413 to 435	Appeals, including the victim’s right of appeal
395 to 405	436 to 445	Reference and revision
406 to 412	446 to 452	Transfer of criminal cases
413 to 435	453 to 477	Execution, suspension, remission and commutation
—	472	Mercy petition in death sentence cases, with timelines. New
432 to 435	473 to 477	Remission and commutation, with new restrictions in section 473
436	478	In what cases bail is to be taken
436A	479	Maximum period of detention of an undertrial. One third for a first-time offender; new exclusions
437	480	Bail in a non-bailable offence
438	482	Anticipatory bail
439	483	Special powers of the High Court and Court of Session regarding bail
451 to 459	497 to 505	Disposal of property
460 to 466	506 to 512	Irregular proceedings
467 to 473	513 to 519	Limitation for taking cognizance
482	528	Inherent powers of the High Court
—	529	Continuous superintendence by the High Court over subordinate courts. New
—	530	Trial and proceedings in electronic mode. New
484	531	Repeal and savings

⚠ The two numbers most often confused

Under the CrPC, section 438 was anticipatory bail and section 482 was the inherent power of the High Court. Under the Sanhita, section 482 is anticipatory bail and the inherent power has moved to section 528.

A petition described as “under section 482” therefore means one thing if the proceeding is governed by the repealed Code and an entirely different thing if it is governed by the Sanhita. Because both codes are in simultaneous operation under section 531(2)(a), the statute must be named and not merely the section number.

5. Provisions Dropped From the CrPC

Figure 3: The four categories of provision that the Sanhita did not carry forward

What was dropped	CrPC provisions	Reason
Metropolitan areas and Metropolitan Magistrates	Sections 2(k), 8, 16, 17, 19, 355 and 404	A distinction resting on the former Presidency towns and Ahmedabad. A Judicial Magistrate is now a Judicial Magistrate throughout India
Assistant Sessions Judge	Sections 9(3), 10 and 28(3)	The post had fallen into disuse; the Court of Session now consists of the Sessions Judge and Additional Sessions Judges
Judicial Magistrate of the third class	References in sections 3 and 11	Uniformity of the magisterial hierarchy
Inspection of weights and measures	Section 153	An unqualified power to enter and search any place without a warrant, superseded by the Legal Metrology Act, 2009
Definition of India	Section 2(f)	Removed along with the positive extent clause in section 1
Jurisdiction in the case of juveniles	Section 27	The field is occupied by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
Assorted archaic references	Section 29(4); the words “railway, canal, telegraph or” in section 37; “adult male member” in section 64; “pleader” throughout; “lunatic asylum” in Chapter XXV	Modernisation of language. Summons may now be left with any adult member of the family; a pleader is an advocate; Chapter XXVII is recast on the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017

The recasting of Chapter XXV as Chapter XXVII deserves separate notice. The vocabulary of unsoundness of mind has been aligned with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, the expression “lunatic asylum” has been replaced by “mental health establishment”, and the provisions distinguish between mental illness and intellectual disability. The change is not cosmetic: it alters the institutions to which a person found incapable of making his defence may be sent and the standards by which that finding is made.

6. Using the Two Codes in Parallel

Because section 531(2)(a) saves every appeal, application, trial, inquiry and investigation pending on 1 July 2024, the correspondence table is not a historical curiosity. It is a working instrument for as long as matters begun under the 1973 Code remain alive in the system. Two settled principles govern how the older law continues to operate.

📖 Hitendra Vishnu Thakur v. State of Maharashtra, (1994) 4 SCC 602

Facts: The question concerned the application of amendments made to the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 to proceedings already pending, and in particular whether the amended provisions on the period for completing investigation and on default bail applied to cases begun before the amendment.

Held: The Court restated the principles governing the operation of a statute in time. A law which affects substantive rights is presumed to be prospective unless made retrospective expressly or by necessary intendment. A law which is merely procedural is presumed to be retrospective, because no person has a vested right in any course of procedure. But a procedural provision which creates a new disability or obligation, or which impairs a vested or accrued right, is not to be applied retrospectively; and a right of appeal, though exercised procedurally, is a substantive right which vests when the proceeding is instituted.

Ratio: The retrospective operation of procedural law is a presumption and not an absolute rule. The question in every case is whether the provision merely regulates the mode of proceeding or whether it takes away or impairs an accrued right.

📖 Kolhapur Canesugar Works Ltd. v. Union of India, (2000) 2 SCC 536 (Constitution Bench)

Facts: A rule under which proceedings had been initiated was omitted without any saving clause, and the question was whether the proceedings could be continued after the omission.

Held: Where a repealing enactment contains a saving clause, the effect of the repeal is governed by that clause and the general saving in section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 is not resorted to. Where there is no saving clause, the court must ask whether there is any legislative intention to preserve the pending proceedings; absent such intention, they lapse. The applicability of section 6 of the General Clauses Act to the omission of a rule, as distinct from the repeal of a statute, was also examined.

Ratio: The savings clause, and not any general principle, determines what survives a repeal. The starting point in every transitional question is the text of the savings provision.

Applied to the present transition, the position is this. Section 531(2) is an express savings clause, so it governs and displaces resort to general principle. Within its terms, an investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal or application that was pending on 30 June 2024 continues under the repealed Code; anything instituted afterwards is instituted under the Sanhita. Where the savings clause does not answer the question directly, and the High Courts have found that it does not answer every question, the principles in Hitendra Vishnu Thakur supply the method: ask whether the provision in question merely regulates the mode of proceeding or whether it touches an accrued right.

6.1 A practical checklist

Identify the date on which the proceeding was instituted, which for an investigation is the date of registration of the first information report.
If that date is on or after 1 July 2024, the Sanhita governs and the BNSS section number is the one to cite.
If it is earlier, the 1973 Code governs the saved proceeding, and the CrPC section number is the one to cite for steps within that proceeding.
For a fresh application, petition, appeal or revision instituted on or after 1 July 2024, cite the Sanhita, because the repealed Code cannot found a new proceeding.
Where the two codes differ in substance and not merely in number, say which text is being relied on and why, rather than assuming the correspondence carries the meaning across.

7. Key Takeaways

The position stated shortly

1. The Sanhita has 531 sections in 39 chapters against 484 sections in 37 chapters in the 1973 Code. Both have two Schedules and an identical long title.

2. The two extra chapters come from promoting Chapter VII-A (reciprocal arrangements) and Chapter XXI-A (plea bargaining) to full-numbered chapters, now Chapters VIII and XXIII.

3. The subjects appear in the same order in both statutes. From Chapter VIII of the 1973 Code onwards the chapter numbering shifts by one, and from Chapter XXII onwards by two.

4. The classification of offences, the four trial procedures, the machinery of investigation and cognizance, the law of charge and the remedial structure are all carried forward in substance.

5. What was dropped: metropolitan areas and Metropolitan Magistrates, the Assistant Sessions Judge, the Judicial Magistrate of the third class, section 153 on weights and measures, the definition of India, and a body of archaic language.

6. The two most dangerous numbers: anticipatory bail moves from CrPC 438 to BNSS 482, and the inherent power of the High Court moves from CrPC 482 to BNSS 528.

7. Because section 531(2)(a) saves pending matters, both codes operate simultaneously and the correspondence table is a working instrument, not a historical note.

8. Procedural law is presumptively retrospective but the presumption yields where an accrued right is impaired: Hitendra Vishnu Thakur. Where an express savings clause exists it governs: Kolhapur Canesugar Works.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the BNSS equivalent of section 482 CrPC?

Section 528 of the Sanhita. Section 482 of the Sanhita is anticipatory bail, which was section 438 of the CrPC. This is the most frequently confused pair of numbers in the transition.

What is section 154 CrPC in BNSS?

Section 173. It now expressly permits information to be given irrespective of the area in which the offence was committed, which is the Zero FIR, and by electronic communication, and it adds a preliminary inquiry in section 173(3) for offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years.

What is section 167 CrPC in BNSS?

Section 187. The total period of detention during investigation remains sixty or ninety days according to the offence, and police custody remains capped at fifteen days, but the Sanhita permits those fifteen days to be taken in whole or in part within the first forty or sixty days rather than only within the first fifteen.

How many sections were changed, added and omitted?

The figures given at the time of enactment were roughly one hundred and seventy-seven provisions modified, nine sections added and fourteen omitted, together with a larger number of new sub-sections and provisos. Different sources give different counts because the unit of counting differs.

Have Metropolitan Magistrates been abolished by the BNSS?

Yes. The concept of a metropolitan area and the office of Metropolitan Magistrate have been removed, along with the Assistant Sessions Judge and the Judicial Magistrate of the third class. A Judicial Magistrate of the first or second class now exercises the same designation throughout the country.

Does case law under the CrPC still apply to the BNSS?

Yes, wherever the corresponding provision has been carried forward without material change of language, and it continues to apply directly to matters saved under section 531(2)(a). It does not apply where the Sanhita has altered the text, as with section 173(3) on preliminary inquiry and section 187 on police custody.

Related Topics

Major Changes Introduced by the BNSS, 2023
New Features of the BNSS, 2023
Introduction to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
Object, Scope and Scheme of the BNSS, 2023
Repeal and Savings: Section 531 and the Transition from the CrPC, 1973
Constitution of Criminal Courts and Offices: Sections 6 to 20, BNSS