Once the old Code is repealed, all pending cases must restart under the new Sanhita.

Cases already pending when the new Sanhita came into force continue to be handled under the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, not restarted under the new law.

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Section 531

Repeal and savings

(1) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) is hereby repealed.§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 (2 of 1974), 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.§

Why this exists

Whenever a major law is replaced, there's a real risk of chaos — thousands of pending cases, existing orders, and licences suddenly having no legal basis. This 'repeal and savings' section is a standard legal safety mechanism: it cancels the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, cleanly while ensuring continuity, so that ongoing trials aren't disrupted, existing government notifications and court orders remain valid, and people who already missed a deadline under the old law can't get a second chance simply because the new law has longer time limits. This section is what formally ended the operation of the 1973 Code when the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Once the old Code is repealed, all pending cases must restart under the new Sanhita.
Fact: Cases already pending when the new Sanhita came into force continue to be handled under the old Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, not restarted under the new law.