The Indian Penal Code was enacted in:

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was enacted in 1860 and came into force on 1 January 1862.

Drafting of the IPC:

• It was drafted by the First Law Commission, chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay, which was set up under the Charter Act of 1833.
• Macaulay submitted the draft in 1837.
• After revisions, it was passed by the Legislative Council in 1860, after the Revolt of 1857.

Structure:

• The IPC had 23 chapters and 511 sections.
• It defined various offences and laid down punishments for them.

Main categories of offences:

• Offences against the State, such as waging war against the government and sedition.
• Offences against the human body, such as murder, culpable homicide, hurt and kidnapping.
• Offences against property, such as theft, robbery, dacoity and cheating.
• Offences against public tranquillity, such as rioting and unlawful assembly.
• Offences relating to marriage, documents and public servants.

Other important colonial laws:

• The Code of Criminal Procedure (first enacted in 1861, revised several times, with the present version from 1973).
• The Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
• The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Replacement of the IPC:

• In 2023, Parliament passed the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to replace the IPC.
• The BNS came into force on 1 July 2024.
• Along with it, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Evidence Act.

Key changes in the BNS:

• It reduced the number of sections to 358.
• It removed the offence of sedition in its old form and added an offence relating to acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• It introduced provisions on organised crime and terrorism.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1857 is the year of the Revolt.
• ✗1861 is the year of the first Code of Criminal Procedure.
• ✗1872 is the year of the Indian Evidence Act.