NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), expected to replace the 163-year-old IPC, intends to include organised crimes like ATM thefts, leaking question papers, shoplifting, car theft and stealing valuables from a car among new offences under a specific section, with a convict liable for jail term ranging from one to 7 years along with a fine.

There’s no provision in IPC that specifically deals with these offences — often bracketing them under the broad head of ‘theft’ under Section 378.Another significant codification of penal offences through BNS is the importing of provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), which after enactment in 1999 hit hard crime syndicates in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Though it was a state-enacted legislation, many other states have either adopted the Act or enacted laws on the line of MCOCA.B NS took care of this anomaly in IPC and intends to apply pan-India the provisions that would help authorities to tackle organised crime.

Section 109 of BNS provides: “Any continuing unlawful activity including kidnapping, robbery, vehicle theft, extortion, land grabbing, contract killing, economic offences, cyber- crimes having severe consequences, trafficking in people, drugs, illicit goods or services and weapons, human trafficking racket for prostitution or ransom by the effort of groups of individuals acting in concert, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on be- half of such syndicate, by use of violence, threat of violence, intimidation, coercion, corruption or related activities or other unlawful means to obtain direct or indirect, material benefit including a financial benefit, shall constitute organised crime”.It defined “organised crime syndicate” to mean a criminal organisation or group of three or more persons who, acting either singly or collectively in concert, as a syndicate, gang, mafia, or (crime) ring indulging in commission of one or more serious offences or involved in gang criminality, racketeering, and syndicated organised crime.

The section also included economic offences, including criminal breach of trust; forgery, counterfeiting of currency and valuable securities, financial scams, running Ponzi schemes, mass-marketing fraud or multi-level marketing schemes with a view to defraud the people at large for obtaining the monetary benefits or large scale organised betting in any form, offences of money laundering and hawala transactions.

The provision proposes a minimum jail term of five years to convicts under this section and which may extend to life sentence with fine of not less than Rs 5 lakh.

ATM thefts and leakage of question papers have often been bracketed under the broad head of ‘theft’ under IPC Section 378.

Burglaries, which are house breaking after sunset, are covered under Section 446 of IPC.

Section 110 of BNS says, “Any crime that causes general feelings of insecurity among citizens relating to theft of vehicle or theft from vehicle, domestic and business theft, trick theft, cargo crime, theft (attempt to theft, theft of personal property), organised pick pocketing, snatching, theft through shoplifting or card skimming and ATM thefts or procuring money in unlawful manner in public transport system or illegal selling of tickets and selling of public examination question papers and such other common forms of organised crime committed by organised criminal groups or gangs, shall constitute petty organised crimes”.

It punishes those found guilty with imprisonment ranging from one to seven years in addition to fine.