Field guide
How to find a section's text — and its IPC ↔ BNS equivalent
Verified against the live portal — 23 Jul 2026CourtWatch's Statute Search covers about 3,400 sections across 10 central acts — IPC, CrPC, CPC, BNS, BNSS, BSA, the Evidence Act, the NI Act, the Constitution and the Contract Act. Type "cheating" or "420" and the matching sections appear with their cross-law concordance — "Was: IPC §420 / Now: BNS §318(4)". Section Lookup then shows both texts in full, side by side, verified against the official source. Free for every account.
Since the 2024 criminal-law transition, every practitioner lives in two statute books at once: matters filed earlier continue under IPC, CrPC and the Evidence Act, while new matters run under BNS, BNSS and BSA. The court asks for one, the FIR cites the other. CourtWatch keeps both within reach, free, for every account.
Search by words or by number
Open Research → Statute search and type either the concept or the provision: "cheating", "Section 420", "dishonour of cheque", "138 NI". The search is semantic across roughly 3,400 sections of 10 central acts — IPC, CrPC, CPC, BNS, BNSS, BSA, the Indian Evidence Act, the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Constitution, and the Indian Contract Act — so describing the offence works as well as citing it.
Read the concordance chips
Each result carries its cross-law mapping inline: an IPC section shows Now: BNS §…, a BNS section shows Was: IPC §… — the same for CrPC ↔ BNSS and Evidence Act ↔ BSA. The chip answers the daily question — "what is this section now?" — before you open anything.
Open the full text, old and new side by side
View full text + cross-reference opens Section Lookup: the pre-2024 and post-2024 provisions in two panels, complete text, with the act name, the in-force date, a repealed banner where it applies, and a link to the official text on indiacode.nic.in. Each section carries a verification badge showing how the text was checked against the official source and when.
FAQ
Which acts does statute search cover?
Ten central acts: IPC, CrPC, CPC, BNS, BNSS, BSA, the Indian Evidence Act, the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Constitution of India, and the Indian Contract Act.
How do I find the BNS equivalent of an IPC section?
Search the IPC section — "420", or just "cheating" — and the result carries a "Now: BNS §…" chip. Opening the full view shows both provisions side by side, so you can see where the texts differ, not just the renumbering.
Is the section text verified?
Yes — each section shows a verification badge and the date it was last checked against the official source, with a link to the act on indiacode.nic.in.
Does statute search cost anything?
No. Statute Search and Section Lookup are free for every CourtWatch account, on every plan.
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