The Madhya Pradesh state cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, has officially approved an amendment to a 1977 notification governing the state's Home Department. This administrative shift empowers the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to conduct investigations and file cases under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which recently replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code.

The policy change comes amid scrutiny regarding the efficiency of the EOW. Reports indicate that the agency has been managing a massive backlog of 23,261 complaints. Despite the high volume of incoming reports, the number of formal chargesheets filed by the agency remains low, leading to concerns about the pace of investigations and legal accountability in the state. By aligning the EOW’s operational framework with the BNS, the government aims to modernize the legal tools available to investigators handling economic crimes.

While the government frames this as a necessary procedural upgrade to ensure the EOW functions effectively under the new national legal code, the move highlights the ongoing challenge of clearing a significant case backlog. The transition to the BNS is intended to streamline criminal justice procedures, though the practical impact on the EOW’s ability to convert complaints into chargesheets remains to be seen.