Name: Sanjeev Kumar Chadha
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-11, Issue-1, January-June 2026
Page Number: 240-251
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19482066

ABSTRACT
To date, the justification of the Indian criminal justice system most thoroughly since the codification of 18601872 under British rule, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshaya Adhiniyam (BSA) were enacted in 2023. The critical part of this paper is critical covering whether such new statutes provide substantive transformation or are mere revisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act in new forms. The research explores reforms in the substantive offences, procedures and the standard of
evidence through study of the doctrines. The BNS restructures criminal crimes, adds new types to it, including terrorism, organised crime, and mob lynching, and eliminates clauses that are nullified by the Supreme Court. The BNSS introduces digital innovations such as e-FIRs, virtual trials, electronic summons, and requires forensic investigation on serious crimes, and at the same time increases police custody, faces default bail, as well as changes police arrest-search-seizure authority. The BSA also regulates the contemporary standard of evidence by the explicit identification of digital evidence,
metadata, hash values and the codification of leading cases against Anvar P.V. and Arjun Panditrao. Nevertheless, some fears are on unclear definition of offences, increased surveillance by states, lack of sufficient forensic facilities, and unequal technological capability. The paper asserts that despite the new codes revamping significant aspects of criminal law and procedure, much of the philosophy and
structure of criminal law still carries the spirit of colonialism showing continuity as opposed to being totally altered. The 2023 criminal justice reforms will depend on a combination of an effective implementation, constitutional protections, and institutional capacity-building in order to bring about a meaningful change in the criminal justice system.

Keywords: criminal law reform, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita(BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita(BNSS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), Procedural Justice, Digital Evidence, Constitutional Implications.