In place of BNSS, CrPC is still being used in Jharkhand, says former Congress MLA Amba Prasad

Former MLA and All India Congress Committee (AICC) national secretary Amba Prasad on Saturday, January 31, 2026, said that FIRs across Jharkhand are still lodged under CrPC despite it being repealed. The new law BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) has been in force since July 1, 2024.

Ms. Prasad made these remarks at a press conference in front of the Judicial Academy in Ranchi. He said that he did this to bring it to the notice of the Prime Minister (who is in charge of the Home Ministry), the people of Jharkhand, the people of India and above all the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court and that this is an extremely serious matter.

His statement also shows that all is not well in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, where the Congress is an alliance partner.

“Thousands of FIRs are registered every day in our police stations and they are still marked as ‘Section 154 of CrPC’. If you look at the dates of these FIRs, you will be surprised; these are not old cases but very new FIRs registered yesterday and the day before. I am holding this press conference today to expose this major anomaly,” Ms. Prasad said.

Showing the soft copy of FIRs registered in Hazaribagh district, he further said: “As you all know, since July 1, 2024, BNSS has replaced the ‘Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in India. Now the year is 2026 and almost one and a half years have passed since this historic change. Despite this, online FIRs registered in NCRB forms in Jharkhand still mention ‘Section 154 CrPC’, whereas they are legally required to be registered under ‘BNSS Section 173’.”

He pointed out that the ‘dead law’ was still used in official government documents across the state and ironically everyone from the administration to the opposition was silent.

Ms. Prasad added: “This raises a big question mark about the current state of police, law and order in Jharkhand. What kind of administration and what kind of prosecution cell is this? Even the Legislative Assembly has not taken cognizance of this issue. This also raises questions about the legal understanding and sensitivity of our political leadership, despite being legislators themselves.”

He termed the practice as a mockery of the legal process, claiming that he had raised the issue as a national-level legal conference was commencing at the Jharkhand Judicial Academy on Saturday, January 31, 2026.

“Our state has a National University of Law (NUSRL) and several law colleges where future lawyers and judges are still teaching FIR process based on these wrong forms. This is a mockery of the legal process which needs to be rectified immediately,” Ms. Prasad said.

A senior officer at Jharkhand Police Headquarters (PHQ) in Ranchi said it was a serious matter. The officer also said PHQ would investigate the matter. However, the officer emphasized that all cases were filed under BNSS.