Work

Bringing justice closer to the people: Transforming India's criminal laws for the common citizens

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: India's criminal justice system has long been governed by colonial-era legislations the Indian Penal Code (1860), the Code of Criminal Procedure (1973), and the Indian Evidence Act (1872). Designed to serve imperial imperatives rather than democratic aspirations, these frameworks have consistently alienated ordinary citizens through archaic language, procedural delays, institutional opacity, and systemic bias against the marginalized. The urgent need for reform has been widely recognized across legislative, judicial, and civil society spaces.In a landmark response, the Government of India enacted three transformative statutes effective July 1, 2024: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023. These legislations collectively aim to decolonize the criminal justice apparatus, simplify legal language, integrate modern technology, and ensure time-bound, citizen-centric justice delivery.This paper critically examines the transformation of India's criminal laws through doctrinal, comparative, and empirical lenses. It analyzes colonial legacies and their contemporary relevance, evaluates challenges faced by marginalized groups in accessing justice, and investigates how technology and digital tools are reshaping transparency and efficiency in the criminal justice system. Based on a stratified sample of 200 respondents including legal professionals, judicial officers, law enforcement personnel, and community members, the study demonstrates that the new legislative framework represents a historic paradigm shift from punitive colonial control toward restorative, inclusive, and rights-based justice delivery.

Source: International Journal of Law Justice and Jurisprudence

DOI: 10.22271/2790-0673.2026.v6.i4a.302