(..11..)

Offences Against the Public Tranquillity

(CHAP. XI Ss. 189 TO 197)

QUESTION BANK

Q.1.    What is unlawful assembly? When a person is said to be the member

of Unlawful assembly?

Q.2.     Define ‘Unlawful assembly’, Distinguish it’s from rioting and affray.

Q.3.     Define ‘Unlawful Assembly’. Can a lawful assembly become

unlawful?

Q.4.     Define Unlawful assembly, and distinguish between common object

and common intention.

Q.5. Explain in detail rioting as a specific offence.

SHORT NOTES

1.    Riot

1. Unlawful assembly

    3.    Unlawful assembly and Royalty

SYNOPSIS

Introduction-

I]    UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY:-    

A) Unlawful Assembly (S. 189 (1)): -    

B) Being a Member of Unlawful Assembly (S. 189 (2)): -    

C) Other Cognate offences of ‘Unlawful Assembly’:-

D) Liability for Constructive Criminality (S.190): -    

II]    RIOTING (S):-

1. Definition (S. 191 (1)-

2) Ingredients of Riot: -

3) Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot (S. 192)-    

4) Liability of owner, occupier, etc. (S. 193)-    

    5) Distinction between ‘Rioting’ (S.191) and ‘Unlawful Assembly’ (S.189):-    

III]    AFFRAY (Ss. 194):-

IV. Promoting enmity between different groups (S. 196)-    

1. Promoting enmity between different groups (S. 196 (1)-    

a. Promoting Enmity-    

b. Prejudicial Acts-     

c. Organised Drills-

    2) Punishments (S. 196 (2))-

V. Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration (S. 197)-

(a) Questioning Allegiance-    

(b) Denying Rights-

(c) Inciting Disharmony-

(d) False/Misleading Information-     

VI. Conclusion-

***

Introduction-

    The BNS, 2023, addresses Offences Against Public Tranquillity primarily in Chapter XI, covering Sections 189 to 197 (Chapter VIII from Ss. 141 to 161 of IPC). These offences essentially involve acts by a group of people that disturb the peace, order, and safety of the public (tranquillity) or a community.

These offences fall between offences against the State and offences against the individual. They are as follows-

1) Unlawful Assembly (Ss. 189, 190)

2) Rioting (S.191 to S. 193)

3) Promoting enmity between different groups (S. 196)

4) Affray (Ss. 194).

I]    UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY:-

    Under this chapter, the mere assembly of persons is not punishable. However, where the public assembles in such a way as to cause terror in the people's minds and endanger public peace, the assembly is termed an ‘unlawful assembly’. S. 189 defines unlawful assembly and provides the punishments for persons constituting an unlawful assembly. The topic of unlawful assembly has been consolidated under the BNS. All the sections of the IPC (i.e. S. 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 150 and 157) relating to the offence of unlawful assembly have been consolidated under S. 189 and 190 of the BNS.

A) Unlawful Assembly (S. 189 (1)): -

    An unlawful assembly is an assembly of five or more persons if their common object is: -

a)    to overawe by criminal force or by show of criminal force-

i) the Central or State Government, or

ii) the Parliament or Legislature of any State, or

iii) any public servant in the lawful exercise of the power of such public servant-

b)    to resist the execution of any law or legal process,

c)    to commit any mischief or criminal trespass or other offences, or

d)    by means of criminal force or show of criminal force to any person.

    a) to take or obtain possession of any property, or

    b) to deprive any person of –

i) the enjoyment of the right of way or

ii) the use of water, or

iii) other incorporeal rights of which he is in possession or enjoyment or

c)    to enforce any right or supposed right, or

e)    by means of criminal force or show of criminal force to compel any person-

i) to do what he is not legally bound to do,

ii) to omit to do what he is legally entitled to do.

    An assembly which was not unlawful when assembled may become unlawful subsequently.

    Thus, an assembly of five or more persons with one or more of the above seven objects becomes unlawful.

    However, mere presence does not make a person a member of the unlawful assembly unless shown to have done something in furtherance of their common object. .            In Peary Mohun Sivear’s Case

Facts:- There was a long-standing dispute between the accused and some other persons relating to the ownership of the piece of land. One day, the accused went to sow the land with indigo, accompanied by a group of men armed with sticks, who kept off the men belonging to the other group by brandishing their sticks while the land was being sown.

Held: - By doing so, they have constituted an unlawful assembly.

    The BNS awards

B) Being a Member of Unlawful Assembly (S. 189 (2)): -

    The BNS, from clauses 2 to 8, lays down the punishments according to the specific role or situation of the member of the assembly.

    Sub clause 2 defines a member of an unlawful assembly as

“Whoever, being aware of facts which render any assembly an unlawful assembly,

intentionally

i) Joins that assembly, or ii) Continues in it,

is said to be a member of an unlawful assembly”.

It also provides the punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly. Punishment - imprisonment up to six months or a fine, or both.

[Note- Whenever the sentence “imprisonment up to …..years” is mentioned, it is to be taken as “imprisonment which may extend to ……years”].

C) Other Cognate offences of ‘Unlawful Assembly’:-

1)    Joining or continuing in an unlawful assembly, knowing it has been

commanded to disperse (Punishment- imprisonment up to two

years, or with fine or with both) (S. 189 (3))

2)    Joining an unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon

(Punishment- with imprisonment up to 2 years or with a fine, or with both) (S. 189 (4)).

3)    Joining an unlawful assembly likely to disturb peace after order to disperse (S. 189 (5).

4)    Hiring or promoting the hiring of people for the assembly.

Punishment- same as if he was a member of the unlawful assembly.     (S. 189 (6)).

    5)     Harbouring/Assembling people known to be hired for it.

        Punishment- up to 6 months, or fine or both (S. 189 (7)).

    6)    Being hired to take part in an unlawful assembly. Punishment-

imprisonment up to 6 months, or a fine or both (S. 189 (8)).

If such hird person goes armed, Pubishable with imprisonment up to 2 years or fine or both (S. 189 (9)).

D) Liability for Constructive Criminality (S.190): -

    The section 190 provides the constructive liability of one member of an unlawful assembly for the act done by another member of the assembly committed in the prosecution of a common object-

    It provides that -

    If any member of an unlawful assembly commits an offence-

i)    in the prosecution of the common object of that assembly, or

ii)    such (offences) as the members of that assembly knew to be likely to

be committed in prosecution of that object-

- every person who, at the time of committing that offence, is a member of the same assembly and is guilty of that offence.

In Fatnay’s Case

Facts:- A body of heavily armed men set out to take a woman back by force. Consequently, one member of the party committed the murder of men from the opposite party.

Court Held: - that the members of an unlawful assembly must be taken to have known that someone was likely to be killed. Therefore, all the party members were held constructively guilty of murder..

The distinction between ‘in furtherance of common intention’ under S.3 (5) and ‘in the prosecution of common object’ under S.190].

(Discussed earlier in the topic of ‘joint offenders’)

II]    RIOTING (S):-

1. Definition (S. 191 (1)-

The section defines the offence of rioting. It is defined as follows-

Whenever force or violence is used by-

i) an unlawful assembly, or

ii) by any member thereof, in prosecution of the common object of such assembly,

- Every member of such assembly is guilty of the offence of rioting.

The punishment prescribed is imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both (S. 191 (2)). But if the offender is armed with deadly weapons, imprisonment for up to five years or a fine, or both (S.191 (3)).

In short, Unlawful assembly + force = Riot.

2) Ingredients of Riot: -

a)    the use of force or violence,

b)    by an unlawful assembly (or by any member thereof)

c)    in the prosecution of the common object of such assembly.

3) Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot (S. 192)-

    The section deals with inciting a riot through illegal provocation. It punishes anyone who deliberately or recklessly does something illegal to provoke others, knowing it will likely cause a riot. If a riot occurs is punishable with imprisonment up to 1 year or fine or both, if riot dosen’t occur the punishment is imprisonment up to 6 months or fine or both.

4) Liability of owner, occupier, etc. (S. 193)-

    Whenever any unlawful assembly or riot takes place and if a landowner or their agent knows that such an event is taking place or is likely to happen, they are duty-bound to immediately inform the nearest police station and use all lawful means to prevent or suppress the disturbance. Failure to do so, or allowing a riot to occur for their own benefit without attempting to stop it, makes them liable to a fine of up to one thousand rupees, emphasizing the principle that property holders must actively cooperate with the state to maintain public tranquility.

5) Distinction between ‘Rioting’ (S.191) and ‘Unlawful Assembly’ (S.189):-

     A ‘riot’ is an unlawful assembly in a particular state of activity in which the use of force or violence accompanies the activity. Thus, the use of force distinguishes rioting from unlawful assembly. In other words, unlawful assembly is a genus of which rioting is a species.

In Raghunath Rai’s Case

Facts: - In this case, Several Hindus (More than five) acting in concert forcibly removed two cows and an ox from the possession of a Mohammedan person. They did this to prevent the killing of cows.

Held: - The accused were held guilty of rioting.

III]    AFFRAY (Ss. 194):-

Public peace may also be disturbed by fighting in a public place. When-

1)    two or more persons,

2)     by fighting in a public place,

3)    disturb the public peace.

            -they commit an affray.

It is punishable with imprisonment up to one month, a fine up to Rs.1000, or with both.

                In Jagannath Sah’s Case.

Facts: Two brothers were quarrelling and abusing each other on a public road, which resulted in a large crowd gathering and temporarily suspended traffic.

Held: - that, as no actual fight took place, no affray was committed.    

IV. Promoting enmity between different groups (S. 196)-

    S. 196 is an important provision aimed at preserving social harmony and public order in India. It directly replaces Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). While the fundamental objective remains to penalise the promotion of enmity between different groups, the BNS version has been modernized to include digital platforms and consolidated for better enforcement.

1. Promoting enmity between different groups (S. 196 (1)-

    An offence is committed under this section if a person engages in the following activities:

a. Promoting Enmity-

     Promoting or attempting to promote feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community.

b. Prejudicial Acts-

    Committing any act that is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between these groups and which disturbs (or is likely to disturb) public tranquillity.

c. Organised Drills-

     Organising or participating in any exercise, movement, or drill with the intent or knowledge that participants will be trained to use criminal force or violence against any religious, racial, or linguistic group.

2) Punishments (S. 196 (2))-

    Anybody committing any of the above offences shall be punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years or fine or both. However, if the above offence is committed in any place of worship shall be punishable with imprisonment up to five years and a fine.

V. Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration (S. 197)-

Sub-section (1) of S. 197 identifies four specific ways a person can commit an offence against national integration:

(a) Questioning Allegiance-

    Making or publishing any claim that a group of persons cannot, because of their religion, race, language, caste, or community, bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India or uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India.

(b) Denying Rights-

    Asserting or propagating that a group of people should be denied or deprived of their rights as citizens of India because of their community identity.

(c) Inciting Disharmony-

    Making appeals or assertions concerning the "obligations" of any class of persons that are likely to cause disharmony, enmity, or hatred between them and other persons.

(d) False/Misleading Information-

    Making or publishing false or misleading information that jeopardises the sovereignty, unity, integrity, or security of India.

    Sub-section (2) of S. 197 provides punishment of imprisonment up to 3 years or fine or both to him who does any of the above offences. However, if the above offences is committed at a place of worship, the punishment of imprisonment increases up to 5 years and a fine.

VI. Conclusion-

    In conclusion, the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 concerning offences against public tranquillity mark a transformative shift from a colonial-era deterrent model to a modern, reformative, and digitally-aware legal framework. By consolidating scattered IPC sections into a cohesive Chapter XI (Sections 189 to 197), the BNS has streamlined the prosecution of unlawful assembly and rioting while introducing harsher penalties for armed violence to curb mob-driven unrest. Notably, the inclusion of "electronic communication" as a tool for incitement and the creation of new offences against national integration address the contemporary challenges of fake news and digital radicalization

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References-

1. By Adv. Jayprakash Somani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=cVJVIq4l3jE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fgemini.google.com%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fgemini.google.com&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

2. “Chapter XI- Of offences Against the Public Tranquillity” ://devgan.in/bns/chapter_11.php

3. “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023” A Commentary by J.K. Verma, EBC publication.

4. “Offences Against Public Tranquility” https://blog.ipleaders.in/offences-against-public-tranquility/

5.” Offences against Public Tranquility under BNS Act 2023” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4MMPjoqyic

6. “Offences against Public Tranquility and defamation nuisance” https://askfilo.com/user-question-answers-smart-solutions/offences-against-public-tranquility-and-defamation-nuisance-3430343531333130