Call new criminal laws by their abbreviations BNSS, BNS, BSA: Punjab and Haryana High Court

The nomenclature of the three new criminal laws - the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) - have caused considerable consternation among lawyers, particularly in the southern States [Manpreet Kaur v. State of Punjab]..The non-Hindi speaking populace and Bar have pointed out their difficulties in pronouncing these names and have even filed petitions seeking change in the names. And now Punjab and Haryana High Court has offered a practical solution - refer to these laws by their abbreviations. Justice Anoop Chitkara said that there would be nothing wrong if the three laws are referred to as BNSS, BNS and BSA in first information reports (FIR), petitions, orders etc.Calling the new criminal laws with their abbreviations as BNSS, BNS and BSA will not be violative of any law but would rather promote inclusivity, facilitating a more accessible and efficient judicial process, the single-judge opined."A reading of “The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023,”; “The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023,” and “Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023” do not point out any restrictions not to call these statutes by their abbreviations, BNSS, BNS, and BSA, and it is time to call them by their abbreviations, which would not be violative of any law. Adopting abbreviations for the new criminal laws will not only simplify the usage of lengthy Hindi terminology in legal space but also promote inclusivity, facilitating a more accessible and efficient judicial process," the Court said..The Court was of the view that using abbreviations will help standardize the terms in a manner that can be universally understood without grappling with linguistic competence."These are likely to reduce the cognitive load on readers by making the text more scannable and more accessible to the process, and compared to the Hindi pronunciation, it is straightforward to pronounce," the Court noted..The Court made these observations while hearing a plea by a woman seeking bail under Section 482 of BNSS in a corruption and cheating case.While examining the petition of the applicant-woman, the Court noticed that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had been mentioned in the petition as 'The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Act'.Hence, it considered the scope of writing the abbreviation of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita as BNSS and the other two simultaneously enacted statutes, 'Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita' and 'Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam', as BNS and BSA respectively."Abbreviating words instead of spelling them out in full is a phenomenon that has existed throughout the history of written communication, from ancient inscriptions carved into stone and medieval manuscripts to modern-day instant messages," the Court observed..On the aspect of bail, the Court noted that all similarly placed co-accused had been granted bail. Taking note of the same, the Court proceeded to grant anticipatory bail to the woman."Thus, without commenting on the case's merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons mentioned above, the petitioner makes a case for bail, subject to Ss. 485(4), 486, 491, and 492 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the terms and conditions on bail bonds, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer/ Investigator or the concerned Court, whichever is applicable," the Court ordered..Advocate Randhir Singh Manhas appeared for the applicant-woman.Additional Advocate General Anurag Chopra, Gurpartap S Bhullar and Sukhdev Singh and Deputy Advocate General Swati Batra appeared for the State..[Read Order]