Justice Reimagined: Unpacking The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s Impact On India’s Marginalized Communities
- IJLLR Journal
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Anushka Singh, B.A.LL.B., D.E.S. Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune
ABSTRACT
This paper critically examines the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, as India’s most ambitious attempt to reframe its criminal law architecture, with a specific focus on its impact on marginalized communities – including gender minorities, persons with disabilities, and economically weaker sections. While the BNS replaces the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, its reformative potential is undermined by persistent procedural and structural exclusions. Through a constitutional lens grounded in Articles 14, 15, and 21, and supported by landmark judgments such as Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, Jeeja Ghosh v. Union of India, and State of Maharashtra v. Bandu, the paper argues that procedural justice is not merely statutory but a fundamental right. The analysis reveals that despite definitional expansions (e.g., inclusion of “transgender” under Section 2(10)), substantive provisions – particularly Sections 63 to 70 on sexual offences – remain gender-specific, excluding non-binary and trans victims. Similarly, the absence of mandated procedural accommodations for disabled individuals, such as accessible summons or interpreter services, violates both constitutional guarantees and statutory obligations under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. This analysis also reveals the changes made in BNS in reference to the marginalized communities. By explaining the gaps, this study contends that the BNS, in its current form, risks replicating colonial exclusions under a constitutional guise, and calls for a transformative reimagining of criminal justice that centres equity, accessibility, and dignity. This article critically examines whether the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita advances inclusive justice or replicates entrenched inequities under a new name. It interrogates the code’s responsiveness to constitutional mandates of equality, dignity, and access to justice.
Keywords: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Criminal law reform, Marginalized communities, Gender minorities, Persons with disabilities, Economically weaker sections, Procedural justice, Constitutional rights, Article 14, Article 15, Article 21, Substantive due process, Reasonable accommodation, Intersectionality, Legal accessibility, Inclusive legal drafting, Bail reform, Undertrial prisoners, Community-based justice, Judicial sensitization, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, Jeeja Ghosh v. Union of India, State of Maharashtra v. Bandu, Legal aid access, Restorative justice, Procedural safeguards, Justice delivery mechanisms.
