MUMBAI, March 26 -- The Maharashtra legislature on Wednesday approved the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2026, introducing two new provisions into India's primary criminal code that would be applicable in the state. The bill, which will now be sent to the Centre for approval, criminalises the disclosure of the identity of acid attack survivors and brings online sexual harassment under the ambit of sexual offences. The new bill was introduced after the state government decided to shelve the Maharashtra Shakti Bill, envisioned in 2020 as a stringent legal framework including provisions for the death penalty in cases of rape, gang rape, and acid attacks causing grievous injuries. This was after the Centre indicated it was working on a comprehensive overhaul of criminal laws. With the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) coming into force in 2024, most of the Shakti Act's provisions were subsumed into the central law, leaving only a few gaps to be addressed through a state amendment. Speaking in the state assembly on Wednesday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BNS Act covers all the provisions of the Shakti Act except two, which will be covered by the new bill. At the same time, the state government will study the misuse of laws related to crimes against women and make changes if required, Fadnavis informed the state assembly. He was replying to a debate on the bill in the lower house. "When we approved the Shakti Act, the Centre informed us that they are in the process of approving the BNS Act and that it would include most of the provisions of the Shakti Act. They advised us to wait, as parallel laws could create conflict," Fadnavis said. He added that after the BNS Act was enacted, the state constituted a committee, led by the director general of police, to examine whether all the provisions of the Shakti Act were incorporated into the BNS Act. "The committee submitted a report stating that except for two provisions, all aspects of the Shakti Act had been incorporated," he said. One of the key provisions in the new bill criminalises the disclosure of the identity of acid attack survivors. This extends protections already available to survivors of sexual offences. "The committee recommended that like victims of rape and sexual harassment, the identity of acid attack victims should not be disclosed, and doing so will be treated as an offence," Fadnavis said. "The government of Maharashtra, therefore, considers it expedient to provide punishment for disclosure of identity of the victim of acid attack by amending the said section 72, suitably," states the bill, which was cleared by the state assembly and subsequently by the legislative council on Wednesday. The second provision seeks to address online abuse by classifying the use of social media and digital communication platforms, including email, for sending obscene or offensive messages as an offence. "In the second amendment, the use of social media and all forms of digital communication for issuing threats will also be brought under the category of sexual harassment," the chief minister said. "The acts of sexual harassment by use of email, social media platform or through any other electronic or digital mode such as offensive communication, threat to upload or disseminate any photograph, sound or video file, etc., are not covered in the same section 75. It is expedient to include such acts of sexual harassment and to provide punishment by amending section 75 of BNS Act," the bill notes. During the session, some legislators raised concerns regarding the potential misuse of such laws and called for similar protections for men against harassment. The chief minister replied that the state government will conduct a study to examine whether laws related to crimes against women are being misused and whether there is a need to make them gender-neutral. "The Supreme Court has also taken cognisance of the misuse of such laws. There have been instances where consensual relationships were later used to initiate legal action against men," he said. Fadnavis emphasised that misuse undermines the intent of legislation. "The misuse of a law and using it as a weapon against anyone is not its objective. There is a need for a study, and orders will be issued soon," he said. The proposed study will assess whether legal safeguards can be balanced with protections against gender-based violence....