Section 149 BNSS: Use of Armed Forces to Disperse Assembly

Section 149 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 empowers the District Magistrate, or an Executive Magistrate authorised by the District Magistrate and present at the place, to cause an assembly covered by Section 148(1) to be dispersed by the armed forces when it cannot otherwise be dispersed and dispersal is necessary for public security.

Reviewed and updated: 11 September 2026

Section 149 at a glance

The provision applies to an assembly referred to in Section 148(1) BNSS.
Use of the armed forces is conditioned on the assembly being incapable of being dispersed otherwise.
Dispersal must also be necessary for public security.
The power is exercised by the District Magistrate or another Executive Magistrate authorised by the District Magistrate who is present.
The armed-forces officer must use as little force and cause as little injury to person and property as is consistent with dispersal, arrest and detention.

Bare Act Text of Section 149 BNSS

149. Use of armed forces to disperse assembly.

(1) If any assembly referred to in sub-section (1) of section 148 cannot otherwise be dispersed, and it is necessary for the public security that it should be dispersed, the District Magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate authorised by him, who is present, may cause it to be dispersed by the armed forces.

(2) Such Magistrate may require any officer in command of any group of persons belonging to the armed forces to disperse the assembly with the help of the armed forces under his command, and to arrest and confine such persons forming part of it as the Executive Magistrate may direct, or as it may be necessary to arrest and confine in order to disperse the assembly or to have them punished according to law.

(3) Every such officer of the armed forces shall obey such requisition in such manner as he thinks fit, but in so doing he shall use as little force, and do as little injury to person and property, as may be consistent with dispersing the assembly and arresting and detaining such persons.

What Section 149 BNSS Means

Section 149 is part of Chapter XI of the BNSS dealing with maintenance of public order and tranquillity. It operates after the situation described in Section 148 BNSS. Section 148 deals with a command to disperse an unlawful assembly, or an assembly of five or more persons likely to disturb the public peace, and permits dispersal by civil force in the circumstances stated there.

Section 149 permits escalation to the armed forces only where the assembly cannot otherwise be dispersed and where dispersal is necessary for public security. The statutory wording therefore places both a necessity threshold and a public-security threshold on the exercise of the power.

Who May Order the Use of Armed Forces?

Under Section 149(1), the power may be exercised by the District Magistrate or by another Executive Magistrate authorised by the District Magistrate, provided that the Magistrate is present. The Magistrate may then requisition an officer commanding a group of persons belonging to the armed forces to disperse the assembly.

Power to Arrest and Confine Persons

Section 149(2) permits the Magistrate to require the commanding officer to arrest and confine persons forming part of the assembly as directed by the Executive Magistrate, or where arrest and confinement are necessary to disperse the assembly or to have such persons punished according to law.

Minimum Force and Minimum Injury Safeguard

Section 149(3) requires the armed-forces officer to obey the requisition in the manner the officer thinks fit, but expressly limits the manner of execution. The officer must use as little force and cause as little injury to person and property as may be consistent with dispersing the assembly and arresting and detaining the persons concerned.

Meaning of "Armed Forces" for Sections 148 to 151

Section 151(3) supplies the statutory meaning used in this group of provisions. "Armed forces" means the army, naval and air forces operating as land forces and includes any other armed forces of the Union so operating. Section 151 also defines "officer" and "member" in relation to the armed forces.

Relationship with Sections 148, 150 and 151 BNSS

Section 148: Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force Section 149: Use of armed forces to disperse assembly Section 150: Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly

Section 150 addresses a different emergency situation: where public security is manifestly endangered by such an assembly and no Executive Magistrate can be communicated with. Section 151 deals with protection against prosecution for acts purportedly done under Sections 148, 149 and 150, subject to the statutory sanction and good-faith requirements stated in that section.

Official Source

For the authoritative statutory text, refer to the official Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 on India Code.

Legal note: This page is an explanatory reference to the statutory provision. In a particular case, the legality of an order or use of force will depend on the facts, the statutory conditions, applicable constitutional principles, and binding judicial decisions.