From Colonial Law To The BNS: Necrophilia And The Unresolved Legal Gap In Indian Criminal Law

Hanslata Rastogi, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Central University of South Bihar Gaya ABSTRACT The transformation from the Indian Penal Code to the Bharti Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (“BNS”) was popularized as an opportunity to move from the colonial laws and modernize Indian Criminal Law. Yet the recodification has reproduced, almost verbatim, a colonial- era lacuna: the absence of any provision that specifically criminalizes sexual acts committed upon a human corpse (necrophilia). Indian courts continue to...