UGC urges NLUs, law colleges to include Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita studies in curriculum

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged the National Law Universities (NLUs) and other premier legal institutions across the country to study and include the ‘Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’ studies in the college curriculum. The Nyaya Sanhita studies have shifted the paradigm of the justice delivery system in India and the use of forensic evidence in criminal cases.

UGC has asked universities and colleges, where law is taught, to ensure publication of the Nyaya Sanhita findings in the university curriculum.

“National Law Universities and other premier legal educational institutions should study the benefits of Nyaya Sanhita in bringing about a paradigm shift in the justice delivery system and its emphasis on the use of forensics,” the official UGC notice said.

The commission has directed law colleges to include the case studies documenting India’s “forensic transitions” into their curriculum and ensure their publication and adoption.

Also read UGC allows state colleges to seek deemed-university status, become off-campus centres of other institutions

Include BNS in curriculum: UGC to law colleges

The Nyaya Sanhita is India’s new criminal law that replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), bringing drastic changes to how justice is delivered in India. The BNS came into effect on July 1, 2024, replacing the colonial era IPC.

The commission has urged colleges to teach students how India’s new criminal law changed the justice system, focusing on forensic evidence, and case studies of this change should become part of the law courses.

UGC has also directed law colleges to ensure compliance with recommendations and provide an update regarding the matter. The recommendations were made during the director generals and inspector generals of police (DGsP/IGsP) conference 2025, held from November 28 to 30, 2025.