Indian Journal for Research in Law and Management

Advancing Law and Management

ISSN No. : 2583-9896

Symbolic shift or structural reform? A critical study of community services as a punishment in BNS.

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Jyotirmayee Sahoo (2025). Symbolic shift or structural reform? A critical study of community services as a punishment in BNS.. The Indian Journal for Research in Law and Management, Volume II(Issue 12). Retrieved from https://ijrlm.com/journal/symbolic-shift-or-structural-reform-a-critical-study-of-community-services-as-a-punishment-in-bns/

Abstract

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, marks a significant shift in India’s criminal justice framework, replacing the colonial-era’s Indian Penal Code (IPC),1860. Among its various innovations, there is the introduction of community services as a formal punishment. This paper critically examines whether the inclusion of community service constitutes a structural reform aimed at transforming punitive justice or merely a symbolic shift lacking systemic depth. It explores the legislative intent, implementation mechanism, comparative global practices, and potential challenges in operationalizing community services in India. This paper argues that without a robust procedural framework and institutional scaffolding, the BNS risks turning a genuinely transformative concept into an effective and chaotic exercise, confining its impact to the symbolic realm rather than realizing its full potential as a systemic change.

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The Indian Journal for Research in Law and Management
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