Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)

Section 144 of CrPC empowers the magistrate of any state or union territory in India, to issue orders to prevent and address urgent cases of danger or nuisance. Section 144 of the CrPC: This colonial-era law, which has been retained in the Code, empowers a district magistrate, a sub-divisional magistrate, or any other executive magistrate empowered by the state government, to issue orders to prevent and address urgent cases of apprehended danger or nuisance.

Section 144 of the CrPC will be helpful for UPSC IAS Exam preparation. GS Paper-2 Polity & Governance.

Table of content

• What is Section 144 of the CrPC?
• Why Section 144 is necessitated?
• Powers under the provision
• Difference between Section 144 and curfew
• Criticism of Section 144
• Supreme court rulings
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Section 144 of the CrPC?

• Section 144 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) of 1973 empowers the magistrate of any state or union territory in India to pass an order prohibiting the gathering of four or more people in a specified area.
• The various provisions of Section 144 make it possible to book all the members of such gathering termed as ‘unlawful assembly’ under the charges of having engaged in rioting.
• The written order by the officer may be directed against an individual or individuals residing in a particular area, or to the public at large.
• In urgent cases, the magistrate can pass the order without giving prior notice to the individual targeted in the order.

Why Section 144 is necessitated?

• Section 144 is imposed in a given region in emergency situations or cases of nuisance or perceived danger of some event that has the potential to create a troubled situation or damage to human lives or property.
• In general, we can say Section 144 prohibits public gathering.
• In the past, Section 144 came to use when there was a need to implement certain restrictions in order to prevent the eruption of some protests or riots that can give way to unrest.
• The executive magistrate of the given jurisdiction has been conferred the power to issue orders under Section 144 when there is an impending emergency situation.

Powers under the provision

• As per the order issued under this section, there cannot be any movement of the public.
• All educational institutions in the given area will have to remain closed.
• Holding any public meeting or conducting rallies in the area are banned during the period when Section 144 is in force.
• In the areas where Section 144 is in force, it is deemed a punishable offence to obstruct law enforcement agencies from disbanding an unlawful assembly.
• In case of any arising need, Section 144 also empowers the authorities to stop internet access in the region.
• The provision allows the magistrate to direct any person to abstain from a certain act, or to pass an order with respect to a certain property in the possession or under the management of that person.
• This means Restrictions on movement, carrying arms, and unlawful assembly. It is generally understood that an assembly of three or more people is prohibited under Section 144.
• When aimed at restricting a single individual, the order is passed if the magistrate believes it is likely to prevent obstruction, annoyance or injury to any lawfully employed person, or a danger to human life, health or safety, or a disturbance of the public tranquility, or a riot, etc.
• Orders passed under Section 144 remain in force for two months, unless the state government considers it necessary to extend it. But in any case, the total period for which the order is in force cannot be more than six months.

Difference between Section 144 and curfew

• Section 144 prohibits gathering of four or more people in the concerned area, while during the curfew people are instructed to stay indoors for a particular period of time.
• Under curfew government puts a complete restriction on traffic as well.
• Markets, schools, colleges and offices remain closed under the curfew and only essential services are allowed to run on prior notice.

Criticism of Section 144

• The clash between the article 19 of the Indian constitution and Section 144 of CrPC.
• An order under section 144 impacts the guarantee of freedom of speech and expression of the citizen as well as the freedom of peaceful assembly.
• In the case of a peaceful assembly, magistrate have the power to forbid such a gathering despite there being no threat to the public.
• The term ‘in the interest of the public’ is too broad and it gives too much power to the magistrate.

Supreme court rulings

Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya case 1967:

• The Supreme Court held that “no democracy can exist if ‘public order’ is freely allowed to be disturbed by a section of the citizens”.

Madhu Limaye vs Sub-Divisional Magistrate:

• power of a magistrate under Section 144 “is not an ordinary power flowing from administration but a power used in a judicial manner and which can stand further judicial scrutiny”.
• The court, however, upheld the constitutionality of the law, ruling that the restrictions imposed through Section 144 are covered under the “reasonable restrictions” to the fundamental rights laid down under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
• SC said that the fact that the “law may be abused” is no reason to strike it down.

In 2012, the Supreme Court criticised the government for using Section 144 against a sleeping crowd in Ramlila Maidan.

• Section 144 can be used only in grave circumstances for maintenance of public peace.
• The efficacy of the provision is to prevent some harmful occurrence immediately.
• Therefore, the emergency must be sudden and the consequences sufficiently grave.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, despite being potentially arbitrary and discretionary, Section 144 is an essential component of the array of indicators that are initiated by the executive body of any district so as to avoid as well as manage urgent situations after careful analysis of the relevant section in light of judicial pronouncements and academic commentaries.

There have been many legal actions brought against the section questioning its constitutionality, and there have also been many rulings maintaining it. Although the Magistrate is given discretionary powers under this section, those powers are subject to a number of restrictions in order to prevent any arbitrary or unjust order. The use of this power is more logical given that the High Court has the authority to review a Magistrate’s decision under this clause.

Ref: Source-1

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)