Repeal and savings
Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 deals with repeal and savings. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) is hereby repealed. The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
(1) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal---
(a) if, immediately before the date on which this Sanhita comes into force, there is any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending, then, such appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation shall be disposed of, continued, held or made, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), as in force immediately before such commencement (hereinafter referred to as the said Code), as if this Sanhita had not come into force;
(b) all notifications published, proclamations issued, powers conferred, forms provided by rules, local jurisdictions defined, sentences passed and orders, rules and appointments, not being appointments as Special Magistrates, made under the said Code and which are in force immediately before the commencement of this Sanhita, shall be deemed, respectively, to have been published, issued, conferred, specified, defined, passed or made under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita;
(c) any sanction accorded or consent given under the said Code in pursuance of which no proceeding was commenced under that Code, shall be deemed to have been accorded or given under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita and proceedings may be commenced under this Sanhita in pursuance of such sanction or consent.
(3) Where the period specified for an application or other proceeding under the said Code had expired on or before the commencement of this Sanhita, nothing in this Sanhita shall be construed as enabling any such application to be made or proceeding to be commenced under this Sanhita by reason only of the fact that a longer period therefor is specified by this Sanhita or provisions are made in this Sanhita for the extension of time.
Section 531, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure
CRPC 484 Repeal and savings Text carried over almost unchanged 88%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Krishan Joshi vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 531 is a repeal subject to a savings clause and not a repeal in toto: the moment an FIR is registered under the Cr.P.C. before 01.07.2024 the investigative machinery is set in motion, so there is a 'pending inquiry or investigation' within section 531(2)(a), and the whole of the subsequent investigation and trial in that FIR continues to be governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and not by the BNSS. Although procedural law is ordinarily retrospective, section 531(2)(a) expressly preserves the old Code for all such pending matters.
On this section: Applying section 531(2)(a), the Court overruled the Registry's objection and held that a petition arising out of an FIR of 02.02.2024 had to be treated as one under section 482 Cr.P.C., not section 528 BNSS.
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S.sivaramakrishnan vs The State Rep by
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where the offence was committed and proceedings were pending before 01.07.2024, the non-obstante clause in section 531(2)(a) means the trial, inquiry or investigation continues under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as if the Sanhita had not come into force; the repeal-and-savings clause gives the BNSS prospective effect only, and a Magistrate cannot apply BNSS time limits retrospectively to defeat a right available under the old Code.
On this section: Reading section 531(2)(a), the Court held the sixty-day limit in BNSS section 262 had no application to a discharge petition in a pre-BNSS case and set aside the Magistrate's order dismissing it as time-barred.
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V. I. Thankappan vs State of Kerala
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 531 saves the application of the old Code to appeals, applications, trials, inquiries and investigations pending on 01.07.2024, so that all applications filed and steps taken in a proceeding begun before that date are governed by the Code of 1973; but the savings provision cannot be allowed to defeat a fundamental right, and where the Sanhita confers wider protection (here Chapter XXVII on accused persons of unsound mind or intellectual disability), treating two similarly placed persons differently under the two codes would offend Articles 14 and 21, so the Sanhita's provisions may be extended to proceedings initiated before 01.07.2024.
On this section: Framed as a distinct issue whether Chapter XXVII of the Sanhita applies to an application pending before 01.07.2024 in view of section 531, and answered that the savings clause does not deter enforcement of the accused's fundamental right to a fair trial.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Mr. Raju, sensing the Court's mind, requested for liberty being granted to seek sanction under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which has introduced the concept of deemed sanction. - 30. In view of the provisions of Section 531 of the BNSS, the Cr. PC stands repealed; yet, pending proceedings are to be continued under the 14 repealed law. We, therefore, decline Mr. Raju's prayer. However, liberty to seek sanction under the Cr. PC, if so advised, is reserved. 31. While holding the impugned order to be correct, these appeals …
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… Mr. Raju, sensing the Court's mind, requested for liberty being granted to seek sanction under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which has introduced the concept of deemed sanction. - 30. In view of the provisions of Section 531 of the BNSS, the Cr. PC stands repealed; yet, pending proceedings are to be continued under the 14 repealed law. We, therefore, decline Mr. Raju's prayer. However, liberty to seek sanction under the Cr. PC, if so advised, is reserved. 31. While holding the impugned order to be correct, these appeals …
Questions about Section 531
What have the courts held on Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
Krishan Joshi vs State of Rajasthan (09 Sep 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applying section 531(2)(a), the Court overruled the Registry's objection and held that a petition arising out of an FIR of 02.02.2024 had to be treated as one under section 482 Cr.P.C., not section 528 BNSS. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2024 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNSS 531, section 531 BNSS, section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. People searching for it also type bnss 531 2 a and 531 bnss act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Krishan Joshi vs State of Rajasthan (09 Sep 2024).
What should I read with Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and has it changed?
It carries forward CrPC 484 (Repeal and savings), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita come into force?
Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, cited as BNSS 531, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 359. Compounding of offences1355 words
- 187. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty-four hours1122 words
- 2. Definitions956 words
- 243. Trial for more than one offence930 words
- 35. When police may arrest without warrant881 words
- 480. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence823 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.