What is the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023?

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 is India's new substantive criminal code that officially replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860. It consists of 358 sections, introducing modern definitions for organised crime, cyber fraud, snatching, terrorism, and community service penalties.

Which section in BNS replaced IPC Section 420 (Cheating)?

IPC Section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) has been replaced by Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine.

Which section in BNS replaced IPC Section 302 (Murder)?

IPC Section 302 (Punishment for murder) has been replaced by Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. Additionally, Section 103(2) prescribes the death penalty or life imprisonment for mob lynching committed by five or more persons on grounds of race, caste, or religion.

What is the new Zero FIR provision in BNSS 2023?

Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, every police station is legally required to register an FIR irrespective of whether the offence occurred in its territorial jurisdiction (Zero FIR) and forward it within 24 hours. Electronic FIR (e-FIR) is also recognized.

Is Open Acts completely free for law students, advocates, and Indian citizens?

Yes, Open Acts is 100% free with no subscription or login paywalls, providing unrestricted access to 19,849+ Indian Bare Acts, Supreme Court judgments, IRRAC digests, and side-by-side English to Hindi translations.

Open Acts is a comprehensive Indian legal research platform hosting 19,849+ Central and State Bare Acts, the new criminal codes (BNS, BNSS, BSA 2023), Supreme Court judgments with IRRAC summaries, and statutory concordance tools.

Are the Bare Acts on Open Acts official and verified?

Yes, all statutory texts and PDFs on Open Acts are sourced from official government Gazettes and authenticated legislative repositories of India.

Is Open Acts free to use?

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Consortium of National Law Universities Pen and Paper (Offline OMR)

CLAT PG 2026 pattern

Name: Open Acts — Indian Statutory and Jurisprudential Dataset
Creator: Open Acts
License: https://openacts.in/terms

Official exam pattern, section weightage, negative marking rules, syllabus breakdown, and eligibility guidelines for admission into prestigious National Law Universities.

Subject-Wise Question Breakdown & Weightage

Subject	Questions	Weightage
Constitutional Law	40-50 Questions	40%
Jurisprudence	20-25 Questions	20%
Contract & Commercial Law	20 Questions	15%
Criminal & Procedural Law	20 Questions	15%
Other Law Disciplines	10-15 Questions	10%

Comprehensive Tested Syllabus

Constitutional Law & Landmark Constitution Bench Judgments
Jurisprudence & Legal Theory
Law of Contracts & Specific Relief
Criminal Law (BNS 2023 & IPC 1860)
International Law & Human Rights
Intellectual Property, Torts & Environmental Law