Ranbir Penal Code

Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code or RPC was the main criminal code applicable in the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Penal Code, applicable elsewhere in India, was not applicable here under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. It came into force in 1932.[1] The code was introduced during the reign of Dogra dynasty with Ranbir Singh as its ruler and hence named after him.[2] It was made on the lines of Indian Penal Code prepared by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Now it has been removed as the Parliament of India has passed the bill to scrap provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution on 5 August 2019.[3] The constitution of India which was applicable to the rest of India except Jammu and Kashmir, has now become applicable in the region of Jammu and Kashmir which has now become a Union Territory along with the Ladakh region as a separate Union Territory after the successful passage of the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization bill in the Rajya Sabha[4] and Lok Sabha[5] respectively. The Ranbir Penal Code has thus been dissolved. Henceforth, the Indian Penal Code has come into force in the region.