‘All people shall have the right to gather peacefully and without armaments,’ according to
Article 19 (1)(B) of the Indian Constitution. This means that Indian citizens have the freedom to meet and organize public gatherings or even processions at their leisure.
However, under clause 3 of Article 19 of the Constitution of India, the state may limit this right to assemble in the sake of India’s sovereignty and integrity or public order.
As a result, a relevant authority can ban the conduct of a public meeting if they believe it is necessary for safeguarding public peace and tranquility.
UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY
A raucous crowd can end up causing injury to people, property, or public order.
‘Unlawful Assembly’ is the phrase for such an unruly gathering.
In Moti Das v. State of Bihar, it was held that “an assembly, which was lawful to begin with, became unlawful the moment one of the members called on the other members to assault the victim and his associates, and in response to his invitation, all of the members of the assembly began to chase the victim while he was running.”
Under section 141 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, a ‘unlawful assembly’ is defined as a gathering of five or more people with the common goal of committing an omission or offence.
ESSENTIALS
- There must be an assembly of five persons
- The assembly must have a common object
Unless it is inspired by an illegal common object, the law does not deem a simple gathering of men, no matter how large, to be criminal.
“The word ‘object’ denotes the purpose or design to do a thing targeted at,” the court declared in Sheikh Yusuf v. Emperor, adding that “the object must be ‘common’ to the members who comprise the assembly.”
3. A Common Object is one that is owned and shared by all or at least five members of the assembly.
- The common object must be to commit one of the five illegal objects specified in the section, which includes-
- To use criminal force to intimidate the government.
- To oppose the enforcement of a law or legal process.
- To commit a crime.
- possession or dispossession of any property by force
- To compel someone to do something they don’t want to do.
PUNISHMENTS
i) Under Section 143 of the I.P.C., anyone who is a member of an unlawful assembly is punishable by imprisonment of any sort for a time up to six months, a fine, or both.
ii) Anyone who participates in an unlawful assembly while equipped with a lethal weapon that is likely to cause death is subject to a two-year sentence, a fine, or both under Section 144 of the IPC.
iii) Under Section 145 of the I.P.C., anyone who joins or continues to participate in an unlawful assembly after being directed to disperse faces a penalty of two years in prison, a fine, or both.
iv) When an unlawful assembly commits an offence, every member of that unlawful assembly who knew such an offence was likely to be committed is guilty of that offence under Section 149 of the I.P.C. And be punished for the same amount of time as the offence.
CONCLUSION
As a result, section 144 is only to be utilized in an emergency to prevent a riot or to maintain public order; otherwise, an unlawful assembly that causes a public nuisance is dealt with under section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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