Legal Dictionary
Meanings of Indian legal terms, abbreviations and designations in simple English.
11 terms
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha SanhitaBNSSLegislationThe BNSS sets out the procedure for criminal cases: how an FIR is recorded, how police investigate, how arrest and bail work, and how trials and appeals run. It replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
- Bharatiya Nyaya SanhitaBNSLegislationThe BNS is India's main criminal law. It lists offences such as murder, theft and cheating and sets their punishments. It replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for offences committed on or after 1 July 2024.
- Bharatiya Sakshya AdhiniyamBSALegislationThe BSA is the law of evidence: it decides what a court may accept as proof and how. It expressly covers electronic records. It replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
- Code of Civil ProcedureCPCLegislationThe CPC sets out the procedure that civil courts in India follow, from filing a suit to hearing it, passing a decree and appealing against it.
- Code of Criminal ProcedureCrPCLegislationThe CrPC was the law of criminal procedure from 1973. It has been repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), though it can still matter for older proceedings.
- Indian Evidence ActIEALegislationThe Indian Evidence Act was India's law of evidence from 1872. It has been repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA).
- Indian Penal CodeIPCLegislationThe IPC was India's criminal code from 1860. It has been repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), but it can still apply to offences committed before the BNS took effect.
- Information Technology ActIT ActLegislationThe IT Act is India's main law on electronic records, digital signatures and cyber offences such as hacking and online fraud.
- Negotiable Instruments ActNI ActLegislationThe Negotiable Instruments Act deals with cheques, promissory notes and bills of exchange. It is best known for the offence of a cheque being dishonoured for insufficient funds.
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences ActPOCSOLegislationPOCSO is the special law that protects children from sexual offences and sets out child-friendly procedures for reporting, investigation and trial.
- Right to Information ActRTILegislationThe RTI Act lets citizens ask government bodies for information and requires them to reply within a set time, subject to certain exemptions.
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