# Criminal Law — Niyam

> AI legal research for Indian criminal practice: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, BNSS, and BSA mapped to the IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act. Bail, quashing, and sentencing authority — every answer cited and good-law checked.

Criminal practice runs on the section, the precedent, and the clock. Niyam reads the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — alongside the IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act they replaced — and answers in plain English, every point cited to the provision or judgment it came from.

## What you can do
- Map an old IPC/CrPC section to its BNS/BNSS, 2023 equivalent in seconds
- Pull bail, quashing, and sentencing authority cited to the judgment
- Good-law signals so an overruled precedent never reaches your bail application

## Capabilities
- **Ask the bail question you actually have** — Type the question the way you'd put it to a senior — 'is anticipatory bail available where the offence is triable by the Sessions Court?' Niyam reads the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the governing judgments and answers in plain English, the controlling authority shown alongside.
- **Carry your IPC knowledge into the BNS, 2023** — Every familiar section has a place in the new codes. Niyam maps an IPC or CrPC provision to its equivalent in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — and back — so the transition doesn't cost you the precedent you already know.
- **Know a bail precedent is safe before you cite it** — Niyam surfaces how later courts have treated a judgment — followed, distinguished, referred, or overruled — so an overruled citation never reaches your bail application or appeal. When the law has moved on, it points you to the authority that now governs.
- **Search 72,000+ judgments and the criminal codes** — Behind every answer is the full corpus — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the judgments construing them — indexed so the case on point surfaces even when it's phrased differently from your query.

## How it works
1. **Ask in plain English** — Describe the offence, stage, and issue the way you'd brief a colleague. Niyam reads the BNS, BNSS, and BSA, 2023 — and the codes they replaced — to understand exactly what governs.
2. **Get a cited answer** — Every answer comes grounded in primary sources — sections and judgments — with citations you can open and verify, plus old-code-to-new-code mapping where it helps.
3. **Verify and act** — Read the source, confirm it's still good law, then draft the bail application or grounds of appeal from it — without leaving Niyam.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Niyam cover the new criminal codes?
Yes. Niyam is grounded in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, alongside the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act they replaced. You can move between an old-code section and its new-code equivalent, and carry forward the judgments that interpret it.

### Can it help me map an IPC section to the BNS, 2023?
Yes. Ask for the equivalent of a familiar IPC or CrPC provision and Niyam points you to the corresponding section in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with the section text beside the precedent that construes it, so the transition doesn't cost you what you already know.

### Does it check whether a bail precedent is still good law?
Yes. Niyam surfaces a judgment's treatment history — whether later courts have followed, distinguished, referred to, or overruled it — so you can see at a glance whether a bail or appeal authority is safe to cite. When a judgment has been overruled, it points you to the authority that now governs.

### Can it find a case if I don't know the citation?
Yes. Describe the offence, the stage, and the issue in plain English and Niyam finds the authority by the legal question, not just the keywords — so it surfaces the bail or quashing case on point even when it is phrased differently from how you searched. You then open the judgment and confirm it.

### Is this legal advice?
No. Niyam provides legal information and research grounded in primary sources. It does not create an advocate–client relationship and does not replace advice from a qualified advocate. You remain responsible for verifying every citation, confirming the current code position, and exercising professional judgment.

### Which courts and statutes are covered?
Judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts, plus the criminal codes — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and their predecessors. Coverage keeps expanding; the corpus already runs to more than 72,000 judgments alongside the statute book.

### Are my matters and queries private?
Yes. Your queries and saved research stay private to your account. Niyam is built for the confidentiality criminal defence demands — your work product is never sold and never used to train public models.

## Get started
Create your Niyam account in under a minute — ₹100 to start, 200 credits to try everything. Ask your first bail or framing question and see the authority behind every answer. Start your ₹100 trial at https://app.niyam.ai/register — 200 credits to begin, cancel anytime.