From Retribution to Reform: Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Practice under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Punishment is the most severe power a state exercises over its citizens, and its justification cannot be assumed. This paper examines the purposes of punishment in Indian criminal law after the enforcement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). Using a doctrinal method, it traces the historical development of punishment in India, connects the classical and modern theories of punishment to the statutory text, and tests the scheme against the Supreme Court's sentencing jurisprudence and against comparative practice. It argues that the BNS makes a limited move towards reformative and restorative ideas, mainly through community service (s. 23), but that it also widens capital punishment and introduces life imprisonment defined as the remainder of natural life. These choices raise questions of proportionality, remission and uniformity that the Sanhita does not resolve. The paper ends with six recommendations, including statutory sentencing guidelines, mandatory pre-sentence reports and wider use of non-custodial measures.