The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), is a comprehensive procedural Act that governed the administration of criminal law in India. It was enacted to provide a uniform, systematic framework for handling criminal cases across the country, replacing the colonial-era Criminal Procedure Code of 1898. The CrPC came into force on April 1, 1974, standardizing the process from the investigation of a crime to the final judgment.
The CrPC, which contained 484 sections across 37 Chapters, laid down the mechanism for the entire criminal justice system. Key provisions included Section 154 for the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), Section 41 concerning arrest without a warrant, and Section 167 which governed detention during investigation and judicial custody. It classified offenses into cognizable (where police can arrest without a warrant) and non-cognizable, and bailable and non-bailable, to determine the appropriate police and court action. The Code also ensured the separation of the judiciary from the executive, with judicial magistrates functioning under the control of the High Court.
The CrPC was the procedural counterpart to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, which defined substantive offenses and their punishments. It was also connected to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which governed the admissibility of evidence. The CrPC underwent numerous amendments, including the introduction of provisions for victim compensation in 1982 and changes following the Nirbhaya case in 2013.
However, the CrPC has recently been replaced. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, was introduced to modernize the system and came into force on July 1, 2024, simultaneously repealing the CrPC. While the BNSS retains the core framework of the CrPC, it introduces changes like mandatory forensic investigation for offenses punishable with seven or more years of imprisonment and explicit recognition of electronic mode for trials. For instance, the CrPC's Section 439 (bail powers of Sessions/High Court) was replaced by Section 483 of the BNSS, and the inherent power of the High Court under Section 482 of the CrPC is now in Section 528 of the BNSS. Cases registered before July 1, 2024, continue under the CrPC procedure.