The Bare Act Library
Indian Bare Acts — full text, searchable
Read the complete bare act text for 9 of India's most cited statutes — including the new criminal codes (BNS, BNSS, BSA) that took effect on 1 July 2024, the historic codes they replaced (IPC, CrPC, Indian Evidence Act), and personal-law and transport statutes (Hindu Marriage Act, Indian Divorce Act, Motor Vehicles Act). Every chapter, every section, searchable in seconds. Free, signup-free, always up to date with the latest amendments.
Criminal codes
Substantive criminal law — offences and punishments. The BNS replaced the IPC on 1 July 2024; both are surfaced here so lawyers can cross-reference by section.
2 acts
Act of 2023
BNS
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
India's new penal code. Defines criminal offences and punishments, replacing the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with effect from 1 July 2024.
Read the full textAct of 1860
IPC
Indian Penal Code, 1860
The historic penal code of India, drafted by Lord Macaulay's Law Commission. Superseded by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on 1 July 2024, but still applies to offences committed before that date.
Read the full text
Criminal procedure
How criminal cases are investigated, tried, and appealed. The BNSS replaced the CrPC on 1 July 2024.
2 acts
Act of 2023
BNSS
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
The new procedural code governing investigation, arrest, trial, and appeal in criminal cases. Replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on 1 July 2024.
Read the full textAct of 1973
CrPC
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Governed the procedure for administration of criminal law in India for five decades. Superseded by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita on 1 July 2024; still relevant for pending cases.
Read the full text
Evidence
Rules for what a court can accept as proof. The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Indian Evidence Act on 1 July 2024.
2 acts
Act of 2023
BSA
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023
The law of evidence for Indian courts — what can be proved, how, and by whom. Replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 on 1 July 2024.
Read the full textAct of 1872
IEA
Indian Evidence Act, 1872
The colonial-era evidence statute that shaped Indian courtroom practice for over 150 years. Superseded by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam on 1 July 2024.
Read the full text
Personal law
Marriage, divorce, and related family-law statutes.
2 acts
Act of 1955
HMA
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
The central statute governing marriage among Hindus (including Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs) — solemnisation, restitution, judicial separation, divorce, and maintenance.
Read the full textAct of 1869
IDA
Indian Divorce Act, 1869
Governs matrimonial causes for Indian Christians — dissolution of marriage, nullity, judicial separation, and related reliefs.
Read the full text
Transport & regulatory
Regulatory statutes covering everyday civic life.
1 act
What is a bare act?
A bare act is the raw, unannotated text of a statute — the words Parliament passed, without commentary or case notes. Lawyers, judges, and law students refer to bare acts every day: to check the exact language of a section, to trace which chapter an offence sits in, or to compare a repealed act against the one that replaced it.
On Lawpatra, every bare act is broken down by chapter and section, cross-linked to related provisions, and fully searchable — you can jump straight from "Section 63" to the text, or search for a keyword like "cognizable offence" and land on every section that mentions it. For the three 2023 codes (BNS, BNSS, BSA), we also surface the corresponding IPC, CrPC, and Indian Evidence Act equivalents, so a lawyer moving between old and new numbering can navigate both without a paper conversion table.
Everything on this page is free and requires no login. If you'd rather have a copy for offline use, each act's landing page has an official PDF in English and Hindi.