Crime control in India is not a single statute. It is the criminal law read with the Constitution. The State may investigate, prosecute, and punish crime, but only inside the limits that protect an innocent person and even an accused person. Those limits are themselves human rights.
From 1 July 2024, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 are the main criminal laws for new cases. They replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act for offences and proceedings that begin after that date. Cases already pending continue under the earlier codes unless a specific transitional rule says otherwise.
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Article 20. No person may be convicted for an act that was not an offence when it was done. No person may be given a penalty greater than the one in force at that time. No person may be prosecuted and punished twice for the same offence. No person accused of an offence may be compelled to be a witness against himself.
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Article 21. Life and personal liberty can be taken away only by a procedure established by law, and that procedure must be fair, just, and reasonable. This covers unlawful detention, custodial violence, and denial of a speedy trial.
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Article 22. An arrested person must be told the grounds of arrest, must be allowed to consult a lawyer, and must be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours.
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Registration of crime. In a cognizable offence the police must register an FIR when information discloses that offence. A refusal can be taken to the superintendent of police and then to the magistrate.
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Special laws. Separate Acts deal with atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, offences against children, corruption by public servants, and trafficking. They work along with the general criminal law, not instead of the constitutional safeguards.
