Assessment Of Victim Empowerment In The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- 18 hours ago
- 1 min read
Ayush Chandra Satyam & Shivansh Deo, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
ABSTRACT
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) marks a significant shift in India’s criminal justice system, moving its focus from the accused to the victim. This paper examines three key provisions that drive this change: the right to access and information under Section 173, the right to be heard under Sections 360 and 18(8), and the mechanisms for reparation and witness protection under Sections 396 and 398. For each provision, the paper first explains what the law now says in plain terms, then honestly assesses the barriers that stand in the way of its implementation. These barriers include digital illiteracy among marginalised communities, overburdened courts, bureaucratic delays in compensation, and a police culture shaped by decades of colonial habit. The paper argues that while the BNSS provides a strong legislative engine for victim-centric justice, it will stall without equal investment in infrastructure, legal aid, and institutional training. The success of this reform will not be measured by the text of the statute, but by whether the ordinary victim, who Justice Krishna Iyer in 1979 called the “vanishing point” of Indian criminal law, finally feels heard, protected, and compensated.
