Section 133 CrPC: Conditional Order for Removal of Nuisance

Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 empowered specified Executive Magistrates to make a conditional order for the removal, regulation or prevention of certain public nuisances and dangers. This article explains the provision as it applied immediately before the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force.

Legal position: The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 governed criminal procedure until 30 June 2024. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024, subject to its savings and transitional provisions. This page is retained as a reference to Section 133 CrPC and the law applicable before implementation of the BNSS.

What is Section 133 of the CrPC?

Section 133 formed part of Chapter X of the CrPC dealing with maintenance of public order and tranquillity, under the group of provisions concerning public nuisances. It provided a preventive and summary mechanism through which a District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate, or another Executive Magistrate specially empowered by the State Government could act on a police report or other information where one of the specified forms of public nuisance or danger existed.

A conditional order under Section 133 was an initial direction requiring the person concerned either to comply with the specified remedial measure within the time fixed by the Magistrate or to appear and show cause why the order should not be made absolute.

When could a Magistrate act under Section 133?

Under Section 133(1), the Magistrate could act after receiving a police report or other information and after taking such evidence, if any, as considered appropriate. The provision covered the following situations:

  1. an unlawful obstruction or nuisance in a public place, or in a way, river or channel lawfully used or capable of being lawfully used by the public;
  2. a trade or occupation, or the keeping of goods or merchandise, injurious to the health or physical comfort of the community;
  3. construction of a building, or disposal of a substance, likely to cause conflagration or explosion;
  4. a building, tent, structure or tree in a condition likely to fall and cause injury to persons nearby or passing by;
  5. a tank, well or excavation adjacent to a public way or public place requiring fencing to prevent danger to the public; or
  6. a dangerous animal requiring destruction, confinement or other appropriate disposal.

What directions could be included in the conditional order?

Depending on the nature of the nuisance or danger, the Magistrate could require the person responsible to remove the obstruction or nuisance; stop, remove or regulate a trade or occupation; remove or regulate goods or merchandise; prevent or stop construction; alter the disposal of a substance; remove, repair or support a dangerous building, tent, structure or tree; fence a tank, well or excavation; or destroy, confine or otherwise dispose of a dangerous animal.

The order also had to give the person an opportunity, if objecting to compliance, to appear before the Magistrate or another subordinate Executive Magistrate at the time and place fixed in the order and show cause why the conditional order should not be made absolute.

Meaning of public place under Section 133

The Explanation to Section 133 expanded the expression public place to include property belonging to the State, camping grounds, and grounds left unoccupied for sanitary or recreational purposes. The provision was therefore directed to conditions affecting the public or a section of the public rather than merely resolving an ordinary private dispute.

Effect of Section 133(2)

Section 133(2) stated that an order duly made by a Magistrate under the section could not be called in question in a Civil Court. This statutory bar formed part of the special preventive procedure created by Chapter X of the CrPC. The subsequent procedure, including service of the order, obedience or appearance to show cause, inquiry where a public right was denied, and evidence on showing cause, was dealt with in Sections 134 to 138 and the connected provisions that followed.

Procedure after a conditional order

  • Section 134: dealt with service or notification of the order.
  • Section 135: required the person addressed either to perform the act directed or to appear and show cause.
  • Section 136: dealt with the consequences of failure to comply with Section 135.
  • Section 137: prescribed the procedure where the existence of a public right was denied in specified cases.
  • Section 138: governed the inquiry where the person appeared and showed cause against the order.
  • Sections 139 to 142: dealt with local investigation, expert examination, written instructions, the consequences of an order becoming absolute, and injunction pending inquiry.

Section 133 CrPC and the BNSS

For matters governed by the law after commencement of the BNSS, the current procedural statute should be consulted. The BNSS contains a corresponding provision on conditional orders for removal of nuisance in Section 152. For proceedings, liabilities or procedural steps connected with the period before commencement of the BNSS, the applicable savings and transitional provisions should also be examined.

Official legal reference

The text and legislative details of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 may be checked on the official India Code portal. Readers dealing with a current proceeding should verify the law applicable to the relevant date and facts.

Disclaimer: This article is for general legal information. Statutory amendments, State notifications, judicial decisions and transitional provisions may affect the application of the law to a particular matter.