Analysis of Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code: Unlawful Assemblies and Penalties, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Legal Argumentation Theory

Download Analysis of Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code: Unlawful Assemblies and Penalties and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Legal Argumentation Theory in PDF only on Docsity! SECTION 144 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 Submitted by: Ankita Bal Batch 2021-26, BBA LLB. (Div A) PRN: 21010224203 Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune In March 2022 Under the Guidance of Ms. Charvi Kumar (Course in Charge – Legal Reasoning and Logic) INDEX Sl. No. Contents Page number 1. Introduction 3 2. Analysis 4 3. Illustrations 5 4. Expanding Horizons of Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code 6 ANALYSIS Section 144 of the IPC acts a safeguard against one’s right to life and personal liberty, it provides an assurance to potential victims for ensuring justice and corrective action and disciplining anyone who disobeys the law in such a situation. As every section provided in the Indian Penal Code, the purpose of Section 144 is to provide a guarantee to any future victims of an unsolicited or unlawful activity and to provide a warning to anyone who is likely to offend the law and commit or perform such unsanctioned activity or an action forbidden by the law, thus, acting as a deterrent to unlawful activity. Sections of the IPC strive to provide security to all citizens of India by ensuring that no such criminal shall go unpunished and lays down a conduct for citizens ensuring that most citizens, if not all, maintain the sanctity of the law and that a constant general discipline is maintained throughout the country while maintaining each individual’s right to freedom with reasonable restrictions so as to prevent the breach or overlap of one individual or a group of individuals’ right to life, personal liberty and security as no individual is completely unfettered from the reasonable constraints or impediments of law. Weapons probable or likely to cause considerable bodily injury or harm to person(s) range from a knife to a gun or a lathi to a heavy hammer or noxious substances or gases and sharp, pointed weapons like machetes, axes, saws, swords etc. If such weapons are made use of or wielded, they possess the potential to cause death and persons employing the use of such a weapon are knowledgeable of the connotations of such use then they are liable to punishment. Ignorance of the law does not in any case present itself as an excuse or defence for such punishment. ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration I – Setting up a premise of a hypothetical situation where a person named R was headed to their apartment following a usual route to their apartment and R had recently feuded or had a dispute with a person named S. Considering that S was hostile or aggravated following the events of such dispute and unreasonably his anger was provoked, S decides to call a gathering of companions to accompany him as accomplices to beat up and torture R in order to satiate or satisfy his anger. He ambushes R with his accomplices and torments R by injuring them grievously on the midst of R attempting to return home safely. Such activity is unwarranted and inexcusable as mere anger, vendetta or animosity does not prove to be a reasonable defense to gratuitous and unprompted battery and is subject to punishment as under the terms and conditions of Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. Drawing reference to the infamous case of Khairlanji massacre where four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to Scheduled Castes were murdered and the female members of the family made to parade naked over a land dispute, we note that numerical assailants of a dominant Kunbi caste had hacked the family members to death due to disagreements over the building of a road over the field of land concerned. In December of 2006, a chargesheet was filed against 11 persons involved on the grounds of unlawful assembly with deadly weapons, criminal conspiracy, murder and outraging modesty of women. Thus, here we have a case with reference to Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code.3 Illustration II – Examining a situation of a violent riot where a procession of armed citizens cause a commotion and mayhem as such where vandalism and destruction of property occurs in their rampage and causing injuries and death in the stampede. In the wake of such a situation, deterrence occurs from an anti-violence humanitarian group and a scuffle breaks out wherein members of the group are persecuted by the rioting mob. In such a case, recognized members of the mob who knowingly injure or kill the members of the humanitarian group may be liable to section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. 3 Press Trust of India, 11 chargesheeted in Khairlanji murder case, TIMES OF INDIA, (Mar. 2, 2022, 11:14 PM), https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/11-chargesheeted-in-khairlanji-murder-case/articleshow/952064.cms EXPANDING HORIZONS OF SECTION 144 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE There has been an acute shortage of reference or drawn emphasis to Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code to cases where the usage of this Section can be invoked and as such a lack of recognition of this section. Section 144 could expand on to cases of armed mob lynching, armed riots, gang rape where the assembly of persons engaged in the heinous crime were armed as well as cow vigilante violence by an association of people or the planned murder of an individual or a group of individuals by an association of people where harmful weapons are involved. In all these cases where the jurisdiction of section 144 of the Indian Penal Code can apply, it must be noted that the offenders must form an unlawful assembly of at least five persons involved as stated under Section 141. Examples of a case where Section 144 has not been cited includes the Afsar massacre where 50 armed men open fired on 15 people sleeping on a terrace. It was a noted case of vendetta killing performed by members of the Kurmi caste against the Bhumihars. 11 people died on the spot and one person succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital.4 Therefore, it needs to be duly noted that the capacity and the jurisdiction of Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code is to a considerable degree untouched, unexplored and not properly evaluated or assessed. This lack of investigation regarding this section needs to be corrected in the humble opinion of the author. 4 Tapas Chakraborty, 12 shot dead in Bihar midnight massacre, THE TELEGRAPH, (Mar. 2, 2022, 11:37 PM), https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/12-shot-dead-in-bihar-midnight-massacre/cid/895371