Former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit criticised the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) for not making the offence of rape gender neutral as to the victim, even as it introduced gender-neutrality in several other offences.

Speaking at a lecture organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on “BNS 2023 and IPC 1860: Continuity, Change and Challenges,” Justice Lalit said the new law missed an "ideal opportunity” to extend protection to adult male victims of sexual assault after the repeal of Section 377 of the IPC.

He also highlighted that Section 377 IPC, which criminalised “unnatural” sexual intercourse, including bestiality, has been dropped entirely from BNS, partly due to the judgments decriminalising consensual same-sex relations.

However, this coupled with lack of gender neutra

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