Section 151 BNSS: Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150 (Formerly Section 132 CrPC)

Section 151 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

(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.

Statutory Defined Terms in this Section: (Click any term for official legal definition)

Arrest Sec 35

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 151

Section 151 prescribes the mandatory procedure for serving or notifying a conditional order for removal of public nuisance made under Section 152, establishing service mechanisms on the person against whom it is made.

Service Manner: The order shall, if practicable, be served on the person against whom it is made in the manner provided for service of a summons.
Substituted Proclamation: If such order cannot be so served, it shall be notified by proclamation, published in such manner as the State Government may direct.
Conspicuous Affixation: A copy shall be stuck up at such place or places as may be fittest for conveying the information to such person.

Key Landmark Precedents:

Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Vardichand (1980) 4 SCC 162: The Supreme Court emphasised that procedural notifications under public nuisance provisions must ensure that the polluter or person responsible is given unambiguous notice.
C. Muniappan v. State of Tamil Nadu (2010) 9 SCC 552: Reaffirmed that valid service of conditional nuisance orders is a condition precedent to enforcing subsequent penal sanctions.

Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Check the service memo. If the conditional order was neither served as a summons nor published via official proclamation and affixation, all subsequent orders making the removal absolute are procedurally defective.