Open Acts — Indian Statutory Reference System & Legal Research
India's independent, non-profit digital statutory reference engine providing open access to 19,849+ Central and State Bare Acts, landmark criminal law reforms (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, BNSS 2023, BSA 2023), Constitution of India, and 3,500+ Supreme Court precedent digests with verifiable IRRAC legal syntheses and side-by-side Hindi legal translations.
1. Comprehensive Indian Statutory Corpus (19,849+ Enactments)
Open Acts serves practicing advocates, judicial clerks, law professors, students, and citizens by organizing the complete body of Indian statutory law into clean, cross-referenced, and fast-loading web reference guides. All statutes are synchronized against official Gazette of India publications issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department).
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) [Act No. 45 of 2023]: Substantive criminal code replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Features 358 sections classifying offences against women, human body, property, public tranquility, and introducing community service as an alternative penal sanction.
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) [Act No. 46 of 2023]: Criminal procedural code superseding CrPC 1973 with 531 sections. Mandates Zero FIR nationwide (Section 173), forensic audio-video documentation during search and seizure (Section 105), strict investigation timelines, and electronic summons service.
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA) [Act No. 47 of 2023]: Law of evidence replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with 170 sections. Formally recognizes electronic records, digital signatures, server logs, and cloud documents as primary documentary evidence.
- Constitution of India (1950): Complete statutory text of Articles 1 to 395, Schedules 1 to 12, and 106 Constitutional Amendments with Article 21, 14, 19, and 32 writ jurisprudence notes.
- Commercial & Civil Enactments: Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (158 Sections & 51 Orders), Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, Companies Act 2013, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC), Transfer of Property Act 1882, Specific Relief Act 1963, and Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.
2. IPC 1860 to BNS 2023 Section Concordance Guide
| Offence Title |
Colonial IPC 1860 |
New BNS 2023 Section |
Statutory Punishment |
| Murder |
Section 302 |
Section 103(1) |
Death or Life Imprisonment + Fine |
| Mob Lynching (Hate Crimes) |
None (Uncodified) |
Section 103(2) |
Death or Life Imprisonment (5+ persons) |
| Cheating & Inducing Delivery |
Section 420 |
Section 318(4) |
Imprisonment up to 7 Years + Fine |
| Theft & Petty Theft |
Section 378 / 379 |
Section 303(1) & 303(2) |
Up to 3 Years / Community Service (< ₹5,000) |
| Snatching (New Substantive Offence) |
None (Treated as Theft/Robbery) |
Section 304 |
Imprisonment up to 3 Years + Fine |
| Hit and Run / Rash Negligence |
Section 304A |
Section 106(1) & 106(2) |
Up to 5 Yrs (106(1)) / Up to 10 Yrs if absconding (106(2)) |
| Dowry Death |
Section 304B |
Section 80 |
Min 7 Years up to Life Imprisonment |
| Defamation |
Section 499 / 500 |
Section 356 |
Simple Imprisonment up to 2 Years or Community Service |
3. Supreme Court Case Law & IRRAC Precedent Syntheses
Our case law repository indexes over 3,500+ Supreme Court of India precedents analyzed under the institutional IRRAC Framework (Issue, Rule, Reasoning, Application, Conclusion). Every judgment brief isolates the core statutory ratio decidendi from obiter dicta, assisting advocates and judicial researchers in preparing court briefs.
- Arbitration Precedents: Section 34 & 37 standards of patent illegality, minimal judicial intervention, and enforcement of arbitral awards.
- Criminal Jurisprudence: Section 41 CrPC / Section 35 BNSS arrest guidelines, default bail under Section 167(2) CrPC / Section 187 BNSS, and circumstantial evidence doctrines.
- Commercial & Cheque Bounce: Negotiable Instruments Act Section 138 statutory notices, presumptive liability under Section 139, and condonation of delay under Section 142(1)(b).
4. Indian Legal Education Hub (NLUs & Admissions 2026)
Open Acts curates India's premier law education directory featuring top National Law Universities (NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata, NLU Delhi), NIRF law rankings, CLAT & AILET 2026 exam cutoffs, judicial clerkship schedules, and national moot court competitions.
5. Editorial Standards, Statutory Provenance & Authorship
Founder & Project Lead: Open Acts was founded and architected by Akshay Katiyar as an independent, open-access legal technology initiative dedicated to modernizing statutory accessibility across India.
Data Sources: All legislative enactments are compiled from authenticated publications in the Gazette of India, the Legislative Department of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Supreme Court of India Registry, and State Legislative Secretariats. Every statutory change is verified against parliamentary notification dates before publication.
6. Frequently Asked Legal Questions (FAQ)
Which section in BNS replaced IPC Section 420 (Cheating)?
IPC Section 420 has been superseded by Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and fine.
Which section in BNS replaced IPC Section 302 (Murder)?
IPC Section 302 is now Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. Section 103(2) separately prescribes life imprisonment or the death penalty for mob lynching.
What is Zero FIR under the new BNSS 2023?
Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), any police station in India is legally mandated to register an FIR irrespective of territorial jurisdiction and transfer it to the concerned station within 24 hours.
Is Open Acts completely free for Indian advocates, students, and citizens?
Yes. Open Acts provides 100% free, unmetered access to 19,849+ Bare Acts, Supreme Court judgments, bilingual English-Hindi statutory text, and legal analysis without any subscription or login paywalls.