CrPC to BNSS — the procedure sections that changed
Anticipatory bail is no longer 438. FIR registration is no longer 154. A mapping table for the procedural sections that come up in practice.
Published · Lawdship
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure on 1 July 2024. For anyone dealing with a criminal matter, the procedural section numbers are the ones that come up in conversation — and almost every one of them moved.
If someone tells you to "file a 438", they are using the old number. It is now 482.
The sections that come up in practice
| What it does | CrPC | BNSS |
|---|---|---|
| Arrest without warrant | 41 | 35 |
| Notice of appearance to accused | 41A | 35(3) |
| Registration of FIR | 154 | 173 |
| Statements to police | 161 | 180 |
| Confession or statement before Magistrate | 164 | 183 |
| Police report / charge sheet | 173 | 193 |
| Summons to produce a document | 91 | 94 |
| Maintenance of wife, children, parents | 125 | 144 |
| Public nuisance | 133 | 152 |
| Prohibitory orders | 144 | 163 |
| Direction to police to investigate | 156(3) | 175(3) |
| Cognizance of offence by Magistrate | 190 | 210 |
| Examination of complainant | 200 | 223 |
| Postponement of process / inquiry | 202 | 225 |
| Discharge | 227 | 250 |
| Framing of charge | 228 | 251 |
| Examination of the accused | 313 | 351 |
| Compensation to the victim | 357 | 395 |
| Bail in non-bailable offence (Magistrate) | 437 | 480 |
| Anticipatory bail | 438 | 482 |
| Bail by Sessions Court or High Court | 439 | 483 |
| Inherent powers of the High Court | 482 | 528 |
Note the collision worth remembering: CrPC 482 was the High Court's inherent powers. BNSS 482 is anticipatory bail. The number 482 now means something completely different. This causes real confusion, including among people who should know better.
Which code applies to your matter
Broadly, proceedings already underway before 1 July 2024 continue under the CrPC, and matters initiated on or after that date proceed under the BNSS. The transitional provisions are more detailed than that summary suggests, and if your matter straddles the date it is worth confirming which procedure governs each step.
What changed in substance
Timelines were tightened. The BNSS introduces specified periods for several stages that previously had no statutory deadline, including the supply of documents to the accused and the pronouncement of judgment after arguments conclude.
Electronic processes were formalised. Service of summons, recording of statements and production of documents by electronic means are now expressly provided for rather than left to practice.
Zero FIR and e-FIR were given statutory footing. Registering an FIR at any police station regardless of jurisdiction, and registering it electronically, are now provided for in the statute itself rather than resting on circulars and case law.
Forensic examination became mandatory for offences carrying a punishment of seven years or more.
The practical consequence
Anything you read online about "Section 438 anticipatory bail" was written before July 2024. It may still be correct on principle — the substance of anticipatory bail did not change dramatically — but the citation is wrong and any format or template based on it needs updating before filing.
This is a working reference for the provisions most commonly encountered, not an exhaustive mapping. Transitional application is fact-specific. Verify against the bare Act, and take advice on the sections actually cited in your matter. Nothing here is legal advice.
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