What is Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly? What is Protection against prosecution for acts done under preceding sections? Section 131 and 132 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973

Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly and Protection against prosecution for acts done under preceding are defined under Section 131 and 132 of CRPC 1973. Provisions under these sections are:

 

 

Section 131 of CRPC "Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly"
When the public security is manifestly endangered by any such assembly and no Executive Magistrate can be communicated with, any commissioned or gazetted officer of the armed forces may disperse such assembly with the help of the armed forces under his command, and may arrest and confine any persons forming part of it, in order to disperse such assembly or that they may be punished according to law; but if, while he is acting under this section, it becomes practicable for him to communicate with an Executive Magistrate, he shall do so, and shall thenceforward obey the instructions of the Magistrate, as to whether he shall or shall not continue such action.


Section 132 of CRPC "Protection against prosecution for acts done under preceding sections"
(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 noncommissioned 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.