The new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 comprises of 358 sections and the previous bill had 356 sections.
The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill 2023 removes the sedition offence, but has provisions for punishment for offences which being similar to those under the sedition law.
The bill also raised the threshold for a person to be classified as an adult in case of gang rape from 16 to 18 years.
Moreover, the person who is convicted of gang rape will get a minimum punishment of 20 years in prison, with the maximum punishment being life imprisonment.
The new bill also expanded the definition of ‘petty organised crime’. It has bene stated that, ‘whoever being a member of a group or gang, either singly or jointly, commits any act of theft, snatching, cheating, unauthorised selling of tickets, unauthorised betting or gambling, selling of public examination question papers or any other similar criminal act, is said to commit petty organised crime.’
The new Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita Bill categorises mob lynching and hate crimes as ‘murder by 5 or more persons.
The previous bill prescribed a lesser minimum sentence of imprisonment of seven years for the same.
Further, the new bill has removed the provision of minimum punishment and made it at par with murder, i.e., imprisonment for life.
