Protection against prosecution for acts done under preceding sections
Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with protection against prosecution for acts done under preceding sections. No prosecution against any person for any act purporting to be done under section 129, section 130 or section 131 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 ; The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) No prosecution against any person for any act purporting to be done under section 129, section 130 or section 131 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 129 or section 130 ;
(c) no officer of the armed forces acting under section 131 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 military, 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.
B.-Public nuisances
Section 132, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 151 Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150 Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Sri Ravi Kumar vs Guruprasad
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When alleged acts of police officers are reasonably connected with the discharge of their official duties, including investigation of criminal cases, the police officers are entitled to protection under Section 197 CrPC and Section 132 CrPC. No criminal proceedings can be launched against such public servants without prior sanction from the government, even if the acts constitute excess in the discharge of official duties, provided there is a reasonable nexus between the act and the performance of official duty. The cognizance order taken without such prior sanction is legally untenable and liable to be quashed.
On this section: Section 132 provides protection to police officers for acts committed during investigation of criminal cases. The court noted that petitioners were entitled to protection under this section as they were involved in investigation of Cr.No.206/2011.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 132
What have the courts held on Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Sri Ravi Kumar vs Guruprasad (15 Apr 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Section 132 provides protection to police officers for acts committed during investigation of criminal cases. The court noted that petitioners were entitled to protection under this section as they were involved in investigation of Cr.No.206/2011.
How do I find court cases under Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CRPC 132, section 132 CRPC, section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Sri Ravi Kumar vs Guruprasad (15 Apr 2019).
What should I read with Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 129 (Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force), section 130 (Use of armed forces to disperse assembly), section 131 (Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 151 (Protection against prosecution for acts done under sections 148, 149 and 150), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 132, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.