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Thursday, 12 November 2026 Judgments, law jobs and study notes, written by a practising advocate
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter XI: Maintenance Of Public Order And Tranquillity

Section 151 BNSS: Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150

Corresponding CrPC
Section 132 CrPC

Bare Act text

(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.

Text as enacted in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 46 of 2023), in force from 1 July 2024. Source: India Code, Government of India.

In simple words

No prosecution for an act purporting to be done under section 148, 149 or 150 may be started in a Criminal Court without sanction: of the Central Government where the person is an officer or member of the armed forces, and of the State Government in any other case. An Executive Magistrate or police officer acting in good faith under those sections, a person acting in good faith on a requisition under section 148 or 149, an armed forces officer acting in good faith under section 150, and an armed forces member obeying an order he was bound to obey, are not deemed to have committed an offence. The section defines 'armed forces' as the army, naval and air forces operating as land forces, plus other Union armed forces so operating. It also defines 'officer' (including commissioned, gazetted or paid officers and junior commissioned, warrant, petty, non-commissioned and non-gazetted officers) and 'member' (anyone in the armed forces other than an officer).

Chapter XI: Maintenance Of Public Order And Tranquillity

  1. 148 Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force
  2. 149 Use of armed forces to disperse assembly
  3. 150 Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly
  4. 151 Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150
  5. 152 Conditional order for removal of nuisance
  6. 153 Service or notification of order
  7. 154 Person to whom order is addressed to obey or show cause
  8. 155 Penalty for failure to comply with section 154
  9. 156 Procedure where existence of public right is denied
  10. 157 Procedure where person against whom order is made under section 152 appears to show-cause
  11. 158 Power of Magistrate to direct local investigation and examination of an expert
  12. 159 Power of Magistrate to furnish written instructions, etc
  13. 160 Procedure on order being made absolute and consequences of disobedience
  14. 161 Injunction pending inquiry
  15. 162 Magistrate may prohibit repetition or Continuance of public nuisance
  16. 163 Power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger
  17. 164 Procedure where dispute concerning land or water is likely to cause breach of peace
  18. 165 Power to attach subject of dispute and to appoint receiver
  19. 166 Dispute concerning right of use of land or water
  20. 167 Local inquiry
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