Hyderabad: Telangana has registered one of the highest numbers of cases in the country under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), but ranks among the lowest in terms of the share of its police force trained in the new criminal laws, official data shows.
According to the latest figures furnished by the Union Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha, only 27,747 of the state’s total strength of 53,115 police personnel have so far been trained in the new criminal laws, which is just over the 50 per cent mark.
In contrast, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has trained 54,764 of its 56,773 personnel, or more than 96 per cent, while Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have reported training their entire police forces, with strengths of 65,863, 87,277 and 1.8 lakh respectively. Nationally, more than 90 per cent of police personnel have been trained in the new laws.
Concern over training gap
Retired police officials have flagged concerns over the shortfall. A retired officer of Inspector General rank told The Times of India that a lack of familiarity with the new provisions could result in incorrect sections being invoked at the investigation stage, weakening a case later and potentially leading to failures during trial.
Serving Telangana police officials, however, maintain that most personnel involved in law and order have been trained in the BNS. “Not every police officer is involved with an investigation. The training has largely focused on investigating officers rather than all police personnel in battalions and the armed reserve,” a senior official told TOI.
The official added that regular training capsules for 100 to 200 personnel were being conducted every week at the Telangana State Police Academy since the BNS came into force, besides sessions at police colleges, describing the exercise as an ongoing process to keep teams familiar with the new legal framework.
High caseload under new laws
Telangana Police have recorded 3.86 lakh cases under the new criminal laws up to July 17, 2026, far higher than major states such as Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The Union Home Ministry data also shows that Hyderabad is among the major national centres for capacity-building under the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), which works on modernising police forces, research on crime and policing challenges and improving training standards.
The bureau’s Hyderabad unit conducted 64 courses, webinars and seminars, drawing 20,162 participants, including police personnel and other stakeholders, the data shows.
The three new criminal laws, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, came into force on July 1, 2024, replacing the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act.
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