Section 531 BNSS: Repeal and savings (Formerly Section 484 CrPC)

Section 531 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Repeal and savings

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(1) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal—

(a) if, immediately before the date on which this Sanhita comes into force, there is any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending, then, such appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation shall be disposed of, continued, held or made, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as in force immediately before such commencement (hereinafter referred to as the said Code), as if this Sanhita had not come into force;

(b) all notifications published, proclamations issued, powers conferred, forms provided by rules, local jurisdictions defined, sentences passed and orders, rules and appointments, not being appointments as Special Magistrates, made under the said Code and which are in force immediately before the commencement of this Sanhita, shall be deemed, respectively, to have been published, issued, conferred, specified, defined, passed or made under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita;

(c) any sanction accorded or consent given under the said Code in pursuance of which no proceeding was commenced under that Code, shall be deemed to have been accorded or given under the corresponding provisions of this Sanhita and proceedings may be commenced under this Sanhita in pursuance of such sanction or consent.

(3) Where the period specified for an application or other proceeding under the said Code had expired on or before the commencement of this Sanhita, nothing in this Sanhita shall be construed as enabling any such application to be made or proceeding to be commenced under this Sanhita by reason only of the fact that a longer period therefor is specified by this Sanhita or provisions are made in this Sanhita for the extension of time.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Inquiry Sec 2(1)(g) Investigation Sec 2(1)(h)

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 531

Section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 governs the repeal of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and enacts comprehensive savings for pending investigations, trials, and appeals.

Procedural Mechanism: Section 531 formally repeals the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Statutory Commencement & Effective Date: However, sub-section (2)(a) enacts a crucial transitional savings clause: notwithstanding such repeal, if, immediately before the date on which this Sanhita comes into force (July 1, 2024), there is any appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation pending.
Appellate & Judicial Remedies: Such appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation shall be disposed of, continued, held or made, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as in force immediately before such commencement, as if this Sanhita had not come into force.

This statutory framework establishes clear operational guidelines, balancing legal compliance with procedural safeguards.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Garikapati Veeraya v. N. Subbiah Choudhry (AIR 1957 SC 540): The Constitution Bench settled that the right of appeal is a substantive vested right that crystallizes on the date the original proceeding is instituted; subsequent procedural changes cannot divest this right unless expressly declared retrospective.
Central Bureau of Investigation v. R.R. Kishore (2023) SCC OnLine SC 1146: Affirmed that statutory savings clauses preserve pending inquiries, investigations, and vested rights from being invalidated or derailed by the repeal of the parent statute.
State of Punjab v. Mohar Singh (AIR 1955 SC 84): Held that the effect of a repeal with savings is to preserve past actions, pending trials, and accrued rights in unbroken continuity under the repealed law.

Legal Commentary:

Section 531 is the fundamental transitional guide for every criminal court in India. For any case where the FIR was registered or complaint filed prior to July 1, 2024, the old CrPC governs every procedural step, including investigation, bail, trial, and appeal. Only proceedings initiated on or after July 1, 2024, are subject to the BNSS.