Mention the circumstances under which a commissioned military officer can disperse an unlawful assembly without the orders of a Magistrate. 

Question: Mention the circumstances under which a commissioned military officer can disperse an unlawful assembly without the orders of a Magistrate.

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Answer

Article 19 (1)(b) of the Constitution of India 1949, provides that ‘All citizens shall have right to assemble peaceably and without arms. But this right is subject to reasonable restrictions like maintenance of public order and tranquillity. Thus, CrPC grants powers to its functionaries to disperse members of unlawful assemblies to ensure that public order and peace can be maintained in society.

According to Section 141 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, To constitute an unlawful assembly the following 3 conditions must co-exist-

1. There must be an assembly of five persons.
2. The assembly must have a common object and
3. The common object must be to commit one of the five illegal objects specified in the section.

The power to disperse the unlawful assembly can be exercised in three different ways under Sections 129 to 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. To maintain public order and tranquillity, certain armed force officers are also empowered to disperse assembly according to the procedure laid down under Section 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Section 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure reads as follows-

When the public security is manifestly endangered by an unlawful assembly and no communication can be made with the Executive Magistrate, in such cases certain armed force officers are empowered to disperse assembly with the help of the armed forces under his command, and may arrest and confine any persons forming part of it.

While such armed force officer is acting under this section and it becomes practicable for him to communicate with an Executive Magistrate, he shall do so. After communication is established, he shall henceforth obey the instructions of the Magistrate regarding whether he shall or shall not continue such action.

This section has been enacted in order to lay down provisions to maintain public security in the case when no executive magistrate can be reached so that the public order and tranquillity can be maintained more efficiently.

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