From CRPC to BNSS: Procedural Reforms & Their Impact on Indian Criminal Justice System
The School of Law organized an expert guest lecture delivered by Kauser Husain, Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, on the transition from the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The session aimed to provide students with a structured and practice-oriented understanding of the procedural shifts introduced under the BNSS, particularly in relation to FIR registration, investigation, and procedural safeguards. Adv. Husain focused extensively on the law governing First Information Reports (FIRs). He began by revisiting Section 154 of the CrPC, 1973, which mandates registration of an FIR in cognizable offences, and explained how this framework is retained and streamlined under the corresponding provision in the BNSS. The discussion emphasized the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh, which made registration of FIR mandatory in cognizable offences and limited the scope of preliminary inquiry. Adv. Hu...