The new criminal law — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — does not apply retrospectively to every criminal matter; several categories of cases begun under the old Cr.P.C. and IPC continue to be governed by that earlier law. The recent transition from the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) to