• VIPIN KUMAR
• Dr. Rajpal Singh

The Indian criminal justice system has undergone its most comprehensive reform since independence with the replacement of the Indian Penal Code (1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973), and the Indian Evidence Act (1872) by three new laws in 2023: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA). This article presents a comparative analysis of the old and new statutes, examining structural changes, key substantive innovations, procedural reforms, and their implications for the delivery of justice in India. Through doctrinal comparison and contextual commentary, the paper evaluates whether the new laws signify a genuine decolonisation of India’s legal architecture or a symbolic renaming exercise. Drawing upon committee reports, judicial pronouncements, and policy discourse, it argues that while the reforms signal intent to modernise and indigenise criminal law, the real test lies in their implementation, institutional readiness, and safeguarding of constitutional liberties.

Criminal law reform, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, IPC, BNSS, procedural law, BSA, Indian Evidence Act, legal modernization, comparative law, postcolonial jurisprudence

"The Transformation of Indian Criminal Law: Comparative Analysis of IPC, CrPC, IEA and the BNS, BNSS, BSA (2023)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 10, page no.a689-a695, October-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2510086.pdf

"The Transformation of Indian Criminal Law: Comparative Analysis of IPC, CrPC, IEA and the BNS, BNSS, BSA (2023)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 10, page no. ppa689-a695, October-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2510086.pdf