First FIR registered under new criminal law against Delhi's street vendor

As India moves away from its colonial-era legal system, the Delhi Police have filed the first FIR under the recently passed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) against a street seller in Delhi. 

The FIR was filed under Section 285 of the new criminal code that states, "Whoever, by doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causes danger, obstruction, or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees."

The FIR was filed after a police personnel on patrol duty last night spotted the street vendor selling water bottles and gutkha on the road. He was requested to relocate his improvised stall many times since it was blocking the roadway. When he didn't, the police took action to file a formal complaint.

Three new criminal laws came into effect in the country on Monday, bringing far-reaching changes in India’s criminal justice system. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) take into account some of the current social realities and modern-day crimes.

From Monday, all fresh FIRs will be registered under the BNS. However, cases filed earlier will continue to be tried under the old laws till their final disposals. With features like Zero FIR, online police complaint registration, electronic summons via SMS, and mandated crime scene recording for all serious offences, the new legislation introduced a contemporary legal system.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who piloted the laws, had said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action.

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
• Delhi Police
• FIR
• Kamla Market Police Station
• New Delhi Railway Station
• Section 285
• street vendor