Explanation of Section 4 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023:
This section tells us how criminal offences should be handled. It has two key points:
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(1) Offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023:
If someone commits an offence listed in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (the new criminal law replacing the IPC), the investigation, trial, and legal proceedings will follow the rules mentioned in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Example: If a person is accused of theft (a crime mentioned in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), the police will investigate, and the court will conduct the trial based on the rules written in this law.
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(2) Offences under other laws:
If someone commits an offence under a different law (not the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023), the investigation and trial will also follow the same procedure as stated in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
However, if there is a special provision in that law about how the investigation or trial should be conducted, that provision will take priority.
Example 1: Suppose a person is accused of violating the Environment Protection Act. Since this law has its own specific guidelines for how offences should be handled (e.g., which court will hear the case), those guidelines will be followed instead of the general procedure in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Example 2: If a law says an offence must be tried in a special court (like a Special CBI Court), then the trial will happen there, even though the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provides a general trial procedure.
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Key Idea:
For all offences, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is the default rulebook.
But if another law has special rules for handling offences under it, those rules will be followed instead.
This ensures a clear and uniform system while respect
ing special procedures of other laws.
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