Jharkhand High Court Flags Error in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Published by Universal LexisNexis

The Jharkhand High Court on Monday identified a significant error in the Bare Act of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as published by Universal LexisNexis, and called on the publishing house to urgently rectify the mistake. A Bench comprising Justices Ananda Sen and Subhash Chand highlighted the issue concerning Section 103(2) of the new criminal law, which replaces the Indian Penal Code.

The provision in question deals with the offense of mob lynching. The Court observed that the word “similar” was omitted after the phrase “or any other” and before the word “ground” in Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as printed by Universal LexisNexis. This omission, the Court noted, significantly alters the intent, purport, and interpretation of the section, potentially leading to a misinterpretation of the law and subsequent injustices.

"This omission in the publication made by Universal LexisNexis, in fact, entirely changes the intent, purport, and interpretation of Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. This will give a wrong impression to all persons concerned and there are high probabilities that these provisions as printed and published by Universal LexisNexis, may cause injustice," the Court stated.

The Court made these remarks while taking suo motu cognizance of the issue on the very day the new criminal laws came into effect. "Today is a red letter day for the Indian Legal System. Three new laws—Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita—are seeing the light of the day. All these three laws have been made effective from today, i.e., 1st July 2024, replacing the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Indian Evidence Act, 1872," the Court observed.

The Bench noted the increased activity among publishers due to the complete overhaul of these laws, resulting in high demand for the new bare acts and criminal manuals. Numerous publishers have printed these documents in large quantities, and they have been purchased by advocates, courts, libraries, law enforcement agencies, and various institutions. Given this widespread distribution, the Court emphasized the necessity for error-free publications to avoid misinterpretation and application issues.

"Any small error at any place will have a huge impact on the interpretation of the law and also their applications. A small typographical error or an omission will lead to great injustice and embarrassment to all concerned, even to the lawyers and Court," the Court added.

While flagging the error, the Court acknowledged that the mistake might not have been intentional. "We are not saying that this error is deliberate, but maybe a human error and might have been caused due to oversight, but this error can become fatal and embarrassing to all concerned, thus, it needs to be cured immediately," the Court remarked.

The Court ordered Universal LexisNexis to take immediate steps to rectify the error, including the publication of a prominent corrigendum in all major national newspapers in 

"By way of immediate measure, they should highlight this error and publish prominently a corrigendum along with the correct provision in each and every national newspaper of the country published in English and also in all leading newspapers, published in vernacular languages which have wide circulation in each and every state and union territory of the country. This publication must be given prominence so that it catches the eyes of all the readers very easily," the Court ordered.

Additionally, the Court instructed that copies that have not been sold should not be further distributed unless their contents are rectified. Universal LexisNexis is required to inform the Court about the steps taken to correct the error in the Bare Acts and Criminal Manual of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that have already been distributed.

The Court's intervention underscores the importance of accuracy in legal texts, especially during such a significant transition in India's legal framework.

Author: Anushka Taraniya

News writer