Section 151 BNSS: Protection against prosecution for acts done under Sections 148, 149 and 150
Section 151 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides a statutory safeguard for specified acts connected with the dispersal of unlawful or dangerous assemblies under Sections 148, 149 and 150. It deals with two related matters: prior governmental sanction before certain prosecutions can be instituted, and protection from criminal liability for specified acts done in good faith or in obedience to a binding order.
Section 151 BNSS - statutory text
151. (1) No prosecution against any person for any act purporting to be done under section 148, section 149 or section 150 shall be instituted in any Criminal Court except-
(a) with the sanction of the Central Government where such person is an officer or member of the armed forces;
(b) with the sanction of the State Government in any other case.
(2) (a) No Executive Magistrate or police officer acting under any of the said sections in good faith;
(b) no person doing any act in good faith in compliance with a requisition under section 148 or section 149;
(c) no officer of the armed forces acting under section 150 in good faith;
(d) no member of the armed forces doing any act in obedience to any order which he was bound to obey,
shall be deemed to have thereby committed an offence.
(3) In this section and in the preceding sections of this Chapter-
(a) the expression "armed forces" means the army, naval and air forces, operating as land forces and includes any other armed forces of the Union so operating;
(b) "officer", in relation to the armed forces, means a person commissioned, gazetted or in pay as an officer of the armed forces and includes a junior commissioned officer, a warrant officer, a petty officer, a non-commissioned officer and a non-gazetted officer;
(c) "member", in relation to the armed forces, means a person in the armed forces other than an officer.
What Section 151 BNSS means
Section 151 operates in the context of Chapter XI of the BNSS, dealing with maintenance of public order and tranquillity. Sections 148 to 150 concern dispersal of assemblies by civil force, use of armed forces to disperse an assembly, and action by certain armed-forces officers when public security is manifestly endangered.
| Provision | Subject | Connection with Section 151 |
|---|---|---|
| Section 148 | Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force | Acts purporting to be done under this section fall within the sanction and good-faith framework of Section 151. |
| Section 149 | Use of armed forces to disperse assembly | Section 151 covers prosecution sanction and specified good-faith acts connected with a requisition under this section. |
| Section 150 | Power of certain armed-forces officers to disperse assembly | Section 151 extends specified protection to officers acting in good faith and members acting in obedience to orders they were bound to obey. |
Prior sanction before prosecution
Section 151(1) places a condition on the institution of prosecution for an act purporting to be done under Sections 148, 149 or 150. Where the person concerned is an officer or member of the armed forces, sanction of the Central Government is required. In any other case, sanction of the State Government is required.
The provision is therefore relevant at the stage of institution of prosecution. Whether the protection applies in a particular matter depends on the facts, including the nature of the act complained of and its claimed connection with the statutory powers under Sections 148 to 150.
Good-faith protection under Section 151(2)
Sub-section (2) separately provides that certain persons shall not be deemed to have committed an offence merely by carrying out the specified acts. The protection expressly refers to good faith in the case of an Executive Magistrate or police officer acting under the relevant sections, a person complying with a requisition under Section 148 or 149, and an armed-forces officer acting under Section 150. It also covers a member of the armed forces acting in obedience to an order which he was bound to obey.
The statutory wording is important: the benefit is tied to the circumstances identified in the provision and, where expressly stated, to good faith. Section 151 should therefore be read together with Sections 148, 149 and 150 rather than in isolation.
Definitions used in Section 151
Section 151(3) supplies special meanings for "armed forces", "officer" and "member" for this section and the preceding sections of the Chapter. These definitions identify the categories of armed-forces personnel to whom the sanction and protection provisions may apply.
Armed forces
The expression covers the army, naval and air forces operating as land forces and includes any other armed forces of the Union so operating.
Officer
In relation to the armed forces, the expression includes persons commissioned, gazetted or in pay as officers, along with the additional categories specifically listed in Section 151(3)(b).
Member
A "member" means a person in the armed forces other than an officer.
Related BNSS provisions
Section 151 concludes Part A of Chapter XI concerning unlawful assemblies. The next provision is Section 152 BNSS - Conditional order for removal of nuisance, which begins Part B relating to public nuisances.
Official source and commencement
For authoritative reference, consult the official text of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 published by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Central Government notification bringing the Sanhita into force from 1 July 2024.
This page is a general legal information resource. For application of Section 151 to a particular factual situation, the complete statutory scheme, relevant notifications and applicable judicial decisions should be examined.