Call for Chapters: Book on ‘Women and Criminal Justice in India: A New Era from Indian Penal Code to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’ by Ms. Bhawana Chauhan, Raffles University and Dr Jay Prakash Srivastava, Principal, Dogra Law College, Jammu

About the Book

The transition from the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023 represents a pivotal development in India’s legal history. For more than 160 years, the IPC has served as the foundation of the criminal justice system, yet it has remained aligned with the colonial priorities of Victorian morality and social control.

The BNS, which will come into effect on July 1, 2024, seeks to decolonize the legal framework, shifting the emphasis from “Danda” (Punishment) to “Nyaya” (Justice). A central aspect of this transformation is the legal status and protection of women.

The edited volume, Women and Criminal Justice in India: A New Era from Indian Penal Code to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita aims to critically examine the redefinition of gender justice through the new Sanhitas. The BNS has introduced substantial structural and substantive modifications.

Notably, it has consolidated “Offences against Women and Children” into a singular, prioritized Chapter V, indicating that crimes against women are no longer considered secondary to offenses against the State or property

This volume will examine transformative provisions, such as Section 69, which criminalizes sexual intercourse obtained through deceptive means, including false promises of marriage or career advancement. Additionally, it will address the institutionalization of “Community Service” as a rehabilitative measure.

Concurrently, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) introduces procedural reforms, requiring the audio-visual documentation of victim statements and ensuring that investigations and medical reports are completed within specified timeframes.

Nevertheless, this “New Era” also introduces intricate challenges. Although the abolition of the archaic adultery law represents a triumph for individual agency, the lack of gender-neutral provisions in certain sexual offenses continues to be a subject of scholarly debate.

Moreover, the practical shift from a 19th-century colonial framework to a 21st-century digital-first framework necessitates extensive judicial and police sensitization.

This book invites contributors to bridge the gap between legislative intent and practical implementation, offering a comprehensive roadmap for gender-sensitive jurisprudence in contemporary India.

Eligibility

This book is open to professors, researchers, lawyers, and students.

Themes and Sub-Themes

• • Substantive Changes & New Crimes
    • Deceitful Consent under Section 69: A critical analysis of criminalizing sexual intercourse under the pretext of marriage and its impact on personal autonomy.
    • The Abolition of Adultery: Evaluating the shift from Victorian morality to matrimonial privacy and its impact on gender equality.
    • Organized Crime & Trafficking: Exploring new definitions of organized crime in the BNS and their application to female victims and trafficking networks.
    • Terrorism & Gender: Analyzing the gendered implications of “Terrorist Acts” and the protections for women within these new definitions.

• Procedural Justice & Digital Reform
  • Digital Evidence vs. Privacy: The challenges of the BNSS mandate for audio-video recording of victim statements and the right to data security.
  • Zero FIR and e-FIR: Assessing the practical efficacy of digital reporting in increasing the access to justice for women in rural India.
  • Forensics in Investigation: The mandatory involvement of forensic experts in rape cases—prospects for higher conviction rates and scientific accuracy.
  • Statutory Timelines: Evaluating new timelines for medical reports and judgments—can procedural mandates truly end judicial delay?
• Socio-Legal & Critical Perspectives
  • The Gender Neutrality Debate: A critique of keeping rape and stalking laws gender-specific versus international trends toward neutrality.
  • The Victim-Centric Paradigm: Assessing the shift from an “accused-centric” IPC to an “empowered victim” model under the Sanhitas.
  • Intersectionality in Law: How the BNS addresses the specific vulnerabilities of Dalit, Tribal, and Transgender women.
  • Reformative Justice: Analyzing community service for petty offenses as a tool for rehabilitating female first-time offenders.
• Institutional & Practical Challenges
  • From “Danda” to “Nyaya”: Investigating the gap between the decolonial intent of the BNS and the traditional punitive mindset of law enforcement.
  • The Dual Legal Landscape: Managing the transitional hurdles of prosecuting “old” IPC crimes alongside “new” BNS crimes.
  • Witness Protection: Analyzing new witness protection schemes and their role in encouraging women to testify in high-profile cases.
  • Cyber-Violence: Addressing 21st-century threats like deepfakes and digital harassment within the new legal framework.

Submission Guidelines

• • Authors are requested to strictly adhere to the following guidelines to maintain uniformity.
  • All manuscripts should be prepared in English only.
  • Chapter Length: Submissions should be comprehensive, ranging between 4,000 and 6,000 words. This word count is inclusive of all footnotes and references.
  • Abstract & Keywords: Every chapter must start with a short summary (Abstract) of about 300 words and a list of 5 to 7 keywords that describe your main topics.
  • Text Formatting: Font: Times New Roman, Size 12.
  • Line Spacing: 1.5
  • File Type: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) only.

• Citation Standard: Authors must strictly follow the Bluebook (21st Edition) style.
• Use Footnotes (Times New Roman, Size 10, Single Spacing) rather than endnotes or in-text citations.
• Proper use of Id. and supra is mandatory for cross-referencing within the footnotes.
• Originality & Ethics: All submissions must be original, unpublished, and not currently under consideration by any other publisher. A plagiarism check will be conducted; a similarity index below 10% is mandatory.
• Double-Blind Peer Review: To maintain an impartial review process, the main manuscript file must not contain the author’s name, affiliation, or any other identifying information.
• Author Credentials: A separate cover page should be submitted containing:
  • Full Name and Designation.
  • Institutional Affiliation.
  • A brief professional biography (100 words maximum).
  • Contact details (Email and Phone Number).

Important Dates

• Last Date for Abstract Submission: August 30^th 2026
• Notification of Abstract Acceptance:  20^th September 2026
• Last Date for Full Chapter Submission: 30^th October 2026
• Review & Final Revision Deadline:  30^th November 2026
• Final Manuscript to Publisher: December 30^th 2026

Submission  Procedure

Please email your manuscript and cover page to abindia399@gmail.com.