- Why in news
- On 4 August 2026, the Minister of State for Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha in a written reply about BNS provisions that protect women and children, including the single chapter on these offences and the gang rape penalty.
- What it is
- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 as India's main substantive criminal law. It puts offences against women and children first, in Chapter V. It adds new offences and changes procedure, with companion changes in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
- Chapter V
- Offences against women and children are placed first, in Chapter V of the BNS, ahead of other offences.
- Medical report
- Medical practitioners must send a rape victim's medical report to the investigating officer within 7 days.
- New offence
- Sexual intercourse on a false promise of marriage, employment or promotion, or by concealing identity, is a new offence.
- Replaced law
- The BNS replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and came into force on 1 July 2024.
Don’t confuse with BNS vs BNSS: BNS is substantive criminal law replacing the IPC. BNSS is procedure law replacing the CrPC. Victim statement and summons rules sit in the procedure code.
Don’t confuse with BNS vs POCSO Act: POCSO, 2012 is a special law on child sexual offences. BNS is the general penal code and runs alongside it.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Gives crimes against women and children priority and clearer, harsher penalties.
- Victim-centred procedure (audio-video statements, woman Magistrate, free treatment) improves sensitivity and evidence quality.
- Recognises women as adults who can receive summons, removing a gendered rule.
Problems
- Harsher punishment may not deter crime without better investigation and higher conviction rates.
- Implementation gaps: shortage of women police, forensic capacity and trained medical staff.
- Offence of false promise of marriage risks misuse and needs careful proof of intent.
Way forward
- Build forensic, police and judicial capacity and train officers on victim-sensitive procedure.
- Monitor conviction rates and timelines and publish data.
- Issue clear guidelines to limit misuse of new offences and protect genuine victims.
Put in your answer
Chapter V: Offences against women and children come first in the BNS.
Free treatment: Free first-aid or medical treatment is provided to victims at all hospitals.
- 2024Mains GS4 · Q5Discuss BNS as justice-based shift from punishment doctrine, rooted in Indian ethos.
- 2014Mains GS4 · Q8Suggest innovative measures to tackle rising sexual violence against women.
- 2023Mains GS2 · Q12Explain constitutional perspectives of gender justice with provisions and case laws.
- 2026Prelims Q62Zero FIR under BNSS: lodging and jurisdiction statements, which are correct?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the companion procedural law on crimes against women and children: 1. Offences against women and children are placed together in Chapter V of the BNS, ahead of other offences. 2. The BNS keeps separate punishments for gang rape of a girl below 16 years and a girl below 12 years. 3. Hiring or engaging a child to commit an offence is punishable under Section 95 of the BNS with a minimum of seven years' imprisonment. 4. Medical practitioners must send a rape victim's medical report to the investigating officer within 15 days. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the statements given above are correct?
True or false?
1 of 5
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.Offences against women and children are placed in Chapter V of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
True. They are in Chapter V, ahead of other offences.
2.Hiring a child to commit an offence is punishable under Section 95 of the BNS with a minimum of seven years' imprisonment.
True. Section 95 prescribes 7 to 10 years.
3.The new laws require the statement of a rape victim to be recorded by police through audio-video means.
True. Audio-video recording by police is mandated for transparency.
4.Under the new provisions, the age above which a male person cannot be required to attend a place other than his residence was raised from 60 to 65 years.
False. It was lowered from 65 to 60 years.
5.The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
False. The BNS replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the BNSS replaced the CrPC.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Mains practice
15 marks · 250 words
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 groups offences against women and children in one chapter, removes the age differential for gang rape of minors and adds new offences such as sexual intercourse on a false promise of marriage. Examine how far these provisions strengthen protection for women and children, and discuss the challenges in implementing them.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.