Commencement of Statutes — Prospective application, Retrospective effect, Repeal of Statutes, Provisions dealing with repeal under the General Clauses Act

On 1 July 2024 India’s criminal law changed overnight: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Indian Penal Code. Now picture a man who committed an offence in March 2024, and whose case is still pending. Which code does the court apply? A new law cannot simply wipe the old one off the page, and it cannot usually punish what was lawful yesterday. Answering this question is the whole of the topic: when does a statute start, whom does it reach, and what survives when it is repealed?

In two minutes

A statute operates from its commencement, looks forward unless it clearly says otherwise, and when it repeals an earlier law the General Clauses Act, section 6, saves what had already happened under the old law.

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