For an ordinary citizen, the criminal justice system is not simply a collection of statutes, rules or institutions. It is experienced through simple questions. Was the complaint recorded promptly? Was the victim kept informed throughout the investigation? Was evidence collected carefully? Did the witness receive summons in time? And did the case conclude without avoidable delay?
India’s criminal justice system has long carried twin burdens of delay and fragmentation. Cases move through disconnected institutions, paper-heavy workflows and uneven practices across jurisdictions, making those more process-centric than victimcentric. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), which came into force on July 1, 2024, re-engineer this journey.
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Views expressed above are the author’s own.
