UNIT VI

SPECIFIC OFFENCES
OFFENCES AFFECTING THE PUBLIC
 Offences Affecting Public
 Offences against State

CHAPTER - 6

• Sections 121 to 130 of IPC,1860 lays down the provisions relating to the
offences against the state.

• Section 121 to 123 deals with “Waging War”

• Section 124 deals with Assaulting President, Governor etc.

• Section 124-A deals with the offence of sedition.

 BHARATHIYA NYAYA SANHITA
Chapter – 7 (147-158)
147. Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war,
against Government of India.
148. Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 147.
149. Collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against
Government of India.
150. Concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war.
151. Assaulting President, Governor, etc., with intent to compel or restrain
exercise of any lawful power.
152. Act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
 BHARATHIYA NYAYA SANHITA

• 153. Waging war against Government of any foreign State at

peace with Government of India.
• 154. Committing depredation on territories of foreign State at
peace with Government of India.
• 155. Receiving property taken by war or depredation mentioned in
sections 153 and 154.
• 156. Public servant voluntarily allowing prisoner of State or war
to escape.
• 157. Public servant negligently suffering such prisoner to escape.
• 158. Aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring such prisoner.
 Offences Affecting Public--IPC
• Section-121. Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of
war, against the Government of India.-
Whoever, wages war against the Government of India, or attempts
to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with
death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustration
• A joins an insurrection against the Government of India. A has
committed the offence defined in this section.
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 Ingredients

The accused must have:

• Waged war; or
• Attempted to wage war; or
• Abetted the waging of war.
• Such a war must be against the State.
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 Section 121A (Conspiracy to Wage War)
• It is not necessary for any act or illegal omission to take place explicitly in
order to constitute a conspiracy.
• This section deals with two types of conspiracies:
1. Conspiring to commit an offence punishable under Section 121 of the
Code, within or without India.
2. Conspiring to overawe, that is, intimidated by means of criminal force
or a mere show of criminal force against the Government.
• Punishment - Ten years or life imprisonment along with a fine.
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 Section 122 (Preparation to Wage War)
• Essentials of this Section are:
1. Collection of men, arms and ammunition.
2. There must be an intention to wage war or make preparations to wage
war for such collection.
3. The accused must participate in such collection.
4. The war must be waged against the Government of India.
• The punishment under this Section is either life imprisonment or
imprisonment for ten years along with a fine.
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 Section 123 (Concealment of Design to Wage War)
• Essentials of this Section are:
1. There must be an existence of a design which is prepared to wage war
against the Government of India.
2. The concealment should be done with the intention of facilitating the
war against the Government of India.
3. The person should be knowing about the concealment of the design.
• The punishment under this Section is imprisonment of up to ten years along
with a fine.
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 Section 124 (assault on high officials i.e., the President, Governor, etc.)
• Assault should be done with the intention of inducing or compelling the
high officials to exercise or refrain from exercising their lawful powers.
• The ingredients of this Section are:
1. The accused should have assaulted the President or the Governor of
any State; or
2. The accused should have wrongfully restrained the President or the
Governor; or
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 Section 124 (assault on high officials i.e., the President, Governor, etc.)
3. The accused attempted to assault or wrongfully restrain the
President or the Governor; or
4. The accused attempts to instigate or influence the President or the
Governor with force or show of force with an intention to compel
them from exercising or refraining from exercising their powers.
• Punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
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 Section 124A (Sedition)
• Sedition = Conduct or Speech inciting rebellion against the authority of a
state
• Section 124A is considered as a ‘reasonable restriction on right to free
speech’.
• Some incidents from the past and present prove that Section 124A is being
misused to stifle dissent and criticism.
• It is now widely used by the executive and political establishments to
silence or discipline critics.
 Offences Affecting Public
• Section 124A (Sedition)
• Under this Section, any person who by:
• Words, written or spoken; or
• Signs; or
• Visible representations; or
• Otherwise brings or even attempts to bring hatred or excites disaffection
(including the feeling of enmity and disloyalty) towards the Government
of India
• Punishment - Life imprisonment along with a fine in certain cases or
Imprisonment for up to three years along with a fine in certain cases;
or Fine.
 Offences Affecting Public

Raghuvir Singh vs State AIR 1987 SC 149:1987 Cr LJ 157

The authorship of seditious material alone is not the gist of the

offence of sedition. Distribution and circulation of seditious materials
may also be sufficient.
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 Offences Against Public Tranquility section (141-160) of IPC
• Chapter 8 of the Indian penal code contains the provisions that are relating
to the offences against the public tranquility or public order
• It is not the offence against the person and property of an individual, it is the
offence against the state.
• Offences specified, in their chapter are called as group offences which are
generally committed by a large number of people that results in disturbing
the peace of the people.
 BHARATHIYA NYAYA SANHITA
CHAPTER-9 OF OFFENCES AGAINST THE PUBLIC
TRANQUILLITY
SECTION 189-197

189. Unlawful assembly.

190. Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence
committed in prosecution of common object.
191. Rioting.
192. Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot-if rioting
be committed; if not committed.
193. Liability of owner, occupier, etc., of land on which an
unlawful assembly or riot takes place.
194. Affray.
195. Assaulting or obstructing public servant when
suppressing riot, etc.
196. Promoting enmity between different groups on
grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence,
language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance
of harmony.
197. Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national
integration.
 Offences Affecting Public
 Offences Against Public Tranquility

• Offences may be classified as

1. Unlawful assembly,
2. Rioting ,
3. Promoting enmity and
4. Affray
 Offences Affecting Public
 Section 141 Unlawful Assembly
 An assembly which consists of five or more person is defined as unlawful
assembly.
 If a person commits a criminal trespass or compel any person to do what he
is not legally bound to do, or to omit what he is legally entitled to do.
 To use or to show criminal force against the public servant, state or central
government
 To resist the execution of law or legal process.
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The section also specifies the various instances where an unlawful assembly
may be assembled.
1.Overawing the central or state governments or its officers
2.Resistance to the execution of legal process.
3.Commission of mischief
4.Forcible possession
5.Illegal compulsion
 Offences Affecting Public
Subran vs State of Kerala (1993) 3 SCC 32
&
Amarsingh vs State of Punjab AIR 1987 SC 826
&
Shyam Lal And Ors. vs State Of H.P. 1993 Cri LJ 1387

Supreme court held that an assembly of less than five is not an

unlawful assembly within the meaning of section 141.
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 Section 142 (Being a member of unlawful assembly)

• Deals with being a member of unlawful assembly.

• Whoever render of the fact that it is an unlawful assembly and intentionally
joins in that, or continues in it is said to be a member of unlawful assembly.
• The mere presence of a person in that assembly does not constitute such
person as a member of unlawful assembly.
• Every member of unlawful assembly must have a common object and
should intentionally join that assembly is said to be a member of unlawful
assembly.
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• When an unlawful assembly proceeds with a common object as mention in
section 141 but a person withdraws form that assembly then it clearly shows
that he or she is not a member of unlawful assembly. When a member of
unlawful assembly has common object but could not proceed due to the
physical weakness or any other injury then such person is said to constitute
an member of unlawful assembly.
State of Maharashtra v. Joseph Mingel Koli
• Every member of the unlawful assembly is vicariously liable for the
offence committed by the member in a unlawful assembly by the
prosecution of the common object.
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 Punishment:
• Section 143 imposes punishment on the person who is the member of the
unlawful assembly.
• This section gives punishment which may extend up to six month or fine or
both.
Masulti vs State of U.P
Must be more than 4 persons having the common object. If a 5 th person
is present , but he had no common object, he will not held guilty.
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 Section – 146 (Rioting)
UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY + VIOLENCE = RIOTING
• Where the Unlawful Assembly is formed by five or more persons and force
or violence used by all of them or by any person to fulfill the common
object of Unlawful Assembly, then every member of such Unlawful
Assembly shall be held guilty for Rioting.
• Example- A & five of his friends burnt the public property in protest
against the Triple Talak Bill passed by the Parliament and thereby many
people died. They would be held liable for Rioting under this Section.
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 Punishment for Rioting (Section 147)

• Any person who is found guilty of Rioting under Section 146 of IPC, then
they shall be Punished with-
• Imprisonment which may extend to 2 years; or
• Fine; or
• Both.
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 Section 148 of IPC (rioting is done with a Deadly Weapon)
• Where Rioting is done by any person with a deadly weapon or any object or
weapon which can cause the death of a person.
• Example- X with five of his friends assembled together with Hockey
Sticks, Knife, bats and caused unlawful force and violence against people of
other community which results in the death of 100 people.
• They would be guilty under Section 148 of IPC.
• Imprisonment which may extend to 3 years; or
• Fine; or
• Both.
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 Section – 149 ( Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence
commit­ted in prosecution of common object)
If an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly
in prosecution of the common object of that assembly, or such 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 the
committing of that offence, is a member of the same assembly, is guilty of
that offence.
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 Sec 159 (Affray)
• "Where two or more persons, by fighting in a public place, disturb the
public peace, they are said to commit an affray."
• A mere verbal wrangle is not fighting. So to constitute fighting there must
be use of limbs and violence by both parties.
 Essentials
1. There must be two or more persons.
2. There must have been a fighting between such persons.
3. The fight must have been at a public place.
4. Such fight must have resulted in the disturbance of public peace.
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Madan Mohan vs State, 1883
A Railway platform is not a public place when no other train except
goods train is to arrive there.
Joghe vs State
Where one of the parties is beating the other and that other did not
offer any resistance or opposition, it would not constitute a fight.
• A general Sensation and obstruction or disturbance is necessary
 Offences Affecting Public

 Punishment for Affray (Section- 160)

The person found guilty is liable to be punished with imprisonment of

either description which may extend to one month or with a fine up to Rs.
100 or with both.
 Offences Affecting Public
 Against Elections - Bribery, Personation

• Chapter XI of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with Offences related to
Elections which comprises of Section 171A to 171I.
• This chapter was added by the virtue of Indian Elections Offences and
Inquiries Act, 1920.
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• Section 171A:- “Candidate”, “Electoral right” defined

1. “candidate” means a person who has been nominated as a candidate at

any election;

2. “electoral right” means the right of a person to stand, or not to stand

as, or to withdraw from being, a candidate or to vote or refrain from
voting at an election.
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 Section 171B:- Bribery
1.Whoever -
i. gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or
any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any
person for having exercised any such right; or
ii. accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a
reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to
induce any other person to exercise any such right, commits the
offence of bribery;
Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public
action shall not be an offence under this section.
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2. A person who offers, or agrees to give, or offers or attempts to procure, a

gratification shall be deemed to give a gratification.
3. A person who obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain a
gratification shall be deemed to accept a gratification, and a person who
accepts a gratification as a motive for doing what he does not intend to
do, or as a reward for doing what he has not done, shall be deemed to
have accepted the gratification as a reward.
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 Section 171C (Undue influence at elections) :

1. Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free

exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at
an election.
2. Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub- section (1),
whoever -
a) threatens any candidate or voter, or any person in whom a candidate or
voter is interested, with injury of any kind, or
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b) induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or
any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered
an object of Divine displeasure or of spiritual censure, shall be deemed
to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such
candidate or voter, within the meaning of sub-section (1).

3. A declaration of public policy or a promise of public action, or the mere

exercise or a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right,
shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this section.
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 Section 171D (Personation at elections )
Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper on votes in the
name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or
who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a
voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures or attempts to
procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence of
personation at an election.
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 Section 171E (Punishment for bribery)
Whoever commits the offence of bribery shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year,
or with fine, or with both.
• Provided that bribery by treating shall be punished with fine only.
Explanation -
"Treating" means that form of bribery where the gratification
consists in food, drink, entertainment, or provision.
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 Section 171E (Punishment for bribery)
Whoever commits the offence of bribery shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year,
or with fine, or with both.
• Provided that bribery by treating shall be punished with fine only.
Explanation -
"Treating" means that form of bribery where the gratification
consists in food, drink, entertainment, or provision.
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 Section 171F (Punishment for undue influence or personation at an
election)
Whoever commits the offence of undue influence or personation at
an election shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both.