Section 193: Owner or Occupier of Land Not Giving Information of Riot

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita • Chapter X: Of Offences Against Public Tranquillity • Official Statutory Text & Legal Guide

Chapter X: Of Offences Against Public Tranquillity
Any Magistrate
Bailable
Non-Cognizable
Formerly Sec 154, 155, 156 IPC

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 193

Section 193 penalizes the owner or occupier of land on which an unlawful assembly or riot takes place, who fails to give the earliest possible notice thereof to the nearest police station or fails to prevent it, prescribing a fine extending up to five thousand rupees.

  • Property Owner Duty: Imposes an affirmative statutory duty on owners, occupiers, and their agents to report riots on their land.
  • Failure to Notify Police: Failing to give the earliest notice to police authorities.
  • Failure to Use Lawful Means: Failing to use all lawful means in their power to disperse or prevent the unlawful assembly (formerly Section 154 IPC).
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Emperor v. Radhe Lal (1912) 13 Cri LJ 785: Historic authority: landowners and farm managers who knowingly permit armed mobs to gather on their estate without alerting police are liable to fine under Section 154 IPC (Section 193 BNS).
  • State of M.P. v. Ramesh (2011) 4 SCC 786: Examined vicarious responsibilities of landholders under public tranquillity provisions.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In defending farm owners where trespassers clashed on their fields, prove absence of presence: establish that the owner resides in the city and had no notice of the gathering, defeating Section 193 BNS liability.