Organised Crime under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): A New Legal Era
Organised crime has been a major difficulty for law enforcement agencies and the legal system in India for a long time. With the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS)āIndia’s new criminal code and replacement for the Indian Penal Code (IPC)āgreater attention has been afforded to dealing with criminal organisations, accurately and effectively, through the law. This blog will look at where the BNS addresses organised crime, how effective this will be, and what the legislative reform means for dealing with organized crime in India.
What is Organised Crime?
Organised crime are structured groups that extensively engage in illegal activities, such as extortion, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, arms smuggling, and terrorism, with a financial or material gain motive. Organised crime can merge unlawfully across state and national borders more often than street crimes and use systematic means to evade law enforcement.
Organised crime is systemic, rather than casual or incidental as with street crimes. Organised crime requires laws that reach beyond policing and address all financial, technological, and institutional aspects enacted or engaged by organised crime.
The Shift from IPC to BNS: Why Was It Needed?
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, although it established the basis of Indian criminal law, was a colonial product suited to a vastly different socio-political context. As time went on, it became increasingly antiquated and inadequate in handling contemporary criminality, particularly organised and transnational criminality.
Enter the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023āa complete overhaul meant to modernise India’s criminal justice system. An important feature of the BNS is the explicit recognition and criminalisation of organised crimes, which were either vaguely construed or scattered in various provisions in the IPC.
Key Provisions Related to Organised Crime in BNS
1. Definition and Scope
One of the most valuable features of the BNS is its definitive and complete definition of “organised crime”. Crimes commited by a group or network seeking profit or benefit from illegal conduct is clearly identified under the act. This definition provides clarity that the IPC never had.
The BNS is applicable to:
- Mafia-like conduct
- Extortion rings
- Drug trafficking organisations
- Cyber crime organisations
- Terrorist organisations
- Human trafficking organisations
Because of its sweep, law enforcement may target the entire ecosystem of organised crime and not only stand-alone situations.
2. Penalties and Sentencing
The BNS proposes tougher penalties for organisied crime. Punishments include:
- Term of imprisonment (including life imprisonment)
- Seizure of property
- Enhanced sentences in case of an offender being a repeat offender
- Specific punishment for a gang leader or mastermind
These tough measures are to deter offenders and to disrupt the financial base of these organisations.
3. Special Courts and Fast-Track Trials
The BNS proposes to establish Special Courts to adjujate matters related to analytical crime depverity framework without the delay of appeal. This is important because previous delays in trials has weakened the ability to persue cases again syndicates and allowed them to regroup.
4. Technology and Technical Means
The BNS prescribes the use of digital surveillance, interception of communications, and collection of data to gather relevant intelligence as methods of gathering evidence. These are essential tools
5.Witness Protection
Witness intimidation is one of the biggest challenges in organized crime prosecutions. The BNS includes provisions for witness protection and whistleblower protections which may help to improve conviction rates.
IPC vs. BNS: How They Deal with Organised Crime
1. Legal Recognition
IPC:Did not define āorganised crimeā specifically.Was reliant on various provisions for various syndicate offensesWas often subject to judicial interpretation, and confusion.
BNS:Offers a definition of āorganised crimeā that fully encompasses something beyond gang-type behaviour.Is clear and encompasses mafia-style behaviour, extortion syndicates, trafficking, etc.Offers legal certainty, and exactness of applicability.
2. Investigation Tools.
IPC:Was limited in investigation tools and rules.Had little legal backing behind surveillance and digital tracing.Had challenges dealing with tech-savvy enterprises.
BNS:Utilizes modern digital tools, and includes interception and surveillance.Supports forensic technology and cyber surveillance.Creates power tools to address sophisticated organized crime processes.
3. Judicial Process
IPC:Cases related to organized crime were tried in a regular court.Delayed due to heavy workload in the judicial system.Had no mechanisms to fast track organized crime cases.
BNS:Has provisions for Special Courts which aim to accelerate cases.Helps to mitigate backlog, and improve conviction rates.Ensure organized and timely prosecutions.
4. Punishments and Sentencing
IPC:Sentencing depended on the crime for which a person was convicted, and there was a lack of uniformity in sentencing. There was no differentiation of group crimes from individual crimes. Lower deterrence for leaders of syndicates
BNS:Serious punishments with the possibility of life. Specific provisions for leaders of gangs and repeat offenders. Provisions seize assets and properties that were illegally procured.
5. Witness Protection
IPC:No real provisions or protection. Witnesses are often influenced to turn hostile by threats or intimidation. Extremely low conviction rates in organised crimes as a result.
BNS:Covered witness protection. Basically prohibits witnesses from being influenced while under protection. Allows for cooperation with law enforcement and police. Aims to strengthen testimony before the courts and ensure evidence is reliable.
6. Scope and Applicability
IPC:Only likely to be applied to, typical, generally individual or conventional types of crime. Cross-border or interstate criminal networks were challenging to combat with an umbrella approach.
BNS:Specifically aimed at addressing the syndicates type crimes that progress across state and transnational borders. Encounters cooperation from various agencies and jurisdictions. Sees the episode complexity of modern organised crime, and accommodates this in its definitions and operations.
Evaluating the Impact: Strengths of the BNS Approach
1. Clarity and Legal Certainty
By defining and distinguishing organized crime, the BNS removes uncertainty and gives prosecutors a distinct policy path. This has the potential to improve the probability of convictions and target criminal enforcement.
2. Modern Tools for Modern Crimes
As organized criminals turn to encrypted contact, darknet markets, finance and cryptocurrency, the BNS provides new powers for technological aids for law enforcement and policy makers to monitor evolving impacts of modern organized crime.
3. Deterrence Through Punishment
As listed in section 16-D of the BNS, there are most severe penalties if someone is convicted for organized crime, life imprisonment and asset forfeiture. It is reasonable to assume that entering into an organized crime network will heavily disincentivize future participation. The only effective manner to eliminate an organized crime network is to attack its economic roots.
4.Policies for Institutional Change
The introduction of Special Courts and expedited processes is an institutional leap forward in clearing out backlogs and providing services in a timely manner.
Challenges and Critiques
No law is without its flaws, and the BNS too has its set of challenges.
1. Gaps in Implementation
While the law is solidly written, the implementation depends on the capacity of the police, judiciary and forensic regimes to engage with cyber and economic crimes. Many states do not have trained cyber or economic crime units.
2. Potential for Abuse
There is always the potential for abuse of laws that impose stringent measures, either through surveillance or the seizure of property. Safeguards and checks have to be built-in to avoid instances of harassment especially in policing that can arise from the psychological strategy of political targeting.
3. Limited International Cooperation
Organised crime is transnational but India has limited global cooperation or treaties for enforcement with several nations, particularly in Africa, South America or parts of Asia. The provisions of BNS can’t deal with international mafias without, at minimum, international cooperation.
Organised Crime in the Indian Context: Case Studies
Case 1: Dawood Ibrahim Network
The notorious D-Company was operating across India, Dubai, and Pakistan. Proving the links for the IPC and getting conviction was extremely cumbersome. Under BNS, such a syndicate could be legally labelled to be tried in Special Courts and have their finances seized systematically.
Case 2: Human Trafficking in West Bengal
Inter-state gangs that are traffickers of women and children had a low conviction rate due to many provisions that were ad-hoc. Under BNS these operations would qualify as organised crime with systematic focus and increased punishment provisions.
Conclusion: A Progressive Step Forward
The introduction of organized crime provisions in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is a bold, innovative development in Indiaās legal history that indicates forward thinking. It suggests a new age of crime control, compared to colonial times policing. While the true test will be implementation, the framework itself is thoughtful, expansive and forward-looking.
As crime develops and changes, so too must the law. The BNS is not merely an updated set of rules, but a reimagination of what justice could be in modern India.
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