Knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse
Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse. Whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, after such assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fi The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, after such assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
Explanation.-If the assembly is an unlawful assembly within the meaning of section 141, the offender will be punishable under section 145.
Section 151, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 189 Unlawful assembly Close, with changes 72%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
This section refers to
Referred to by 1
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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Jeyaraman vs The Inspector of Police
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Peaceful agitation and raising voice against government policies or infrastructure projects is a fundamental democratic right of every person and cannot be criminalized under Sections 141, 143, 151, or 154 IPC unless the assembly has a common object to overawe public servants by criminal force, resist execution of law, commit mischief or criminal trespass, take possession of property by criminal force, or compel persons to do what they are not legally bound to do. A mere demonstration without permission, if peaceful in nature, does not constitute an unlawful assembly.
On this section: Section 151 IPC relates to knowingly joining or continuing in an assembly after it has been commanded to disperse and committing riot. The court held that there was no allegation that the petitioners knowingly joined or continued in assembly after it was commanded to disperse, hence this section is not attracted.
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 151
What have the courts held on Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code?
Jeyaraman vs The Inspector of Police (21 Jun 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Section 151 IPC relates to knowingly joining or continuing in an assembly after it has been commanded to disperse and committing riot. The court held that there was no allegation that the petitioners knowingly joined or continued in assembly after it was commanded to disperse, hence this section is not attracted.
How do I find court cases under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code?
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: IPC 151, section 151 IPC, section 151 of the Indian Penal Code. 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 Jeyaraman vs The Inspector of Police (21 Jun 2023).
What should I read with Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 141 (Unlawful assembly), section 145 (Joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been commanded to disperse), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 189 (Unlawful assembly), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 151, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
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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 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.