Section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) made it the duty of every police officer to prevent cognizable offences. Since 1 July 2024 the same rule, word for word, is Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS): “Every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, to the best of his ability, prevent, the commission of any cognizable offence.” The section gives the police a power (“may interpose”) and puts on them a duty (“shall … prevent”). It applies only to cognizable offences, that is, offences for which the police may arrest without a warrant.
Section 168 opens Chapter XII of the BNSS, “Preventive Action of the Police” (Sections 168 to 172), which carries over Sections 150 to 152 CrPC as Sections 169 to 171 (Section 151 CrPC, the preventive arrest, is now Section 170), drops Section 153 CrPC on weights and measures, and adds a new Section 172. This page explains each section, the 24-hour limit on a preventive arrest, the remedy for a wrongful one, and gives a summary in Hindi.
Section 149 CrPC / Section 168 BNSS at a glance
- New section: Section 168 BNSS, “Police to prevent cognizable offences” (formerly Section 149 CrPC), unchanged, in force since 1 July 2024.
- What it says: every police officer “may interpose” to prevent, and “shall, to the best of his ability, prevent”, any cognizable offence.
- Section 151 CrPC: now Section 170 BNSS. An officer who knows of a design to commit a cognizable offence may arrest without a warrant if the offence “cannot be otherwise prevented”.
- 24-hour limit: a person arrested under Section 170 cannot be kept in custody beyond 24 hours unless another provision of the BNSS or another law requires or authorises it (Section 170(2)).
- Changes: new Section 172 (everyone must follow lawful police directions given under the chapter); Section 153 CrPC (weights and measures) dropped.
- Not Section 149 IPC: Section 149 IPC (common object of an unlawful assembly) is now Section 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
- Remedy for unlawful custody: a writ of habeas corpus from the High Court (Article 226) or the Supreme Court (Article 32).
Reviewed and updated by Century Law Firm, Delhi – October 2026. Statutory references are to the Acts as in force on that date. The BNSS and the BNS are quoted from India Code (English text as on 6 October 2025, with no amendment to the sections discussed) and the firm’s Gazette-checked comparison data, the Hindi wording of the BNSS from the Gazette text on India Code, the repealed CrPC from its India Code copy, the Constitution from the Legislative Department’s 2026 edition, and the judgment from the Supreme Court’s own copy.
Section 149 CrPC and Section 168 BNSS: the text
Section 149 CrPC is now Section 168 BNSS. The firm’s comparison data, checked against the Gazette, records “No change” between the two. The BNSS text reads:
“168. Police to prevent cognizable offences.—Every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, to the best of his ability, prevent, the commission of any cognizable offence.”
The CrPC text of Section 149 was identical. In the CrPC the section opened Chapter XI, “Preventive Action of the Police”; in the BNSS the chapter has the same title but is Chapter XII. You can look up any other old section with the firm’s CrPC to BNSS comparison tool.
What is a “cognizable offence”?
Section 168 is limited to cognizable offences. Section 2(1)(g) BNSS defines a “cognizable offence” as “an offence for which … a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule or under any other law for the time being in force, arrest without warrant”. A non-cognizable offence is one for which “a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant” (Section 2(1)(o)). Assault on a public servant to deter him from his duty (Section 132 BNS, formerly Section 353 IPC), for example, is classified as cognizable and non-bailable.
“May interpose” and “shall prevent”: a power and a duty
The first part, “may interpose for the purpose of preventing”, is a power: any police officer, of any rank, may step in when a cognizable offence is about to be committed. The second, “shall, to the best of his ability, prevent”, is a duty, measured by what the officer is able to do in the situation.
Section 168 itself does not list the steps an officer may take. The specific powers, each with its own limits, are in Sections 169 to 172, explained below. The general rule of Section 62 BNSS also applies: “No arrest shall be made except in accordance with the provisions of this Sanhita or any other law for the time being in force providing for arrest.”
Preventive action of the police: Sections 168 to 172 BNSS
The whole chapter, old and new, compares as follows. The “Change” column is taken from the firm’s Gazette-checked comparison data.
| Subject | CrPC, 1973 | BNSS, 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police to prevent cognizable offences | Section 149 | Section 168 | No change |
| Information of design to commit cognizable offences | Section 150 | Section 169 | No change |
| Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences | Section 151 | Section 170 | No change (“Code” becomes “Sanhita”) |
| Prevention of injury to public property | Section 152 | Section 171 | No change |
| Inspection of weights and measures | Section 153 | None | Not carried into the BNSS |
| Persons bound to conform to lawful directions of police | None | Section 172 | New section |
Prepared by Century Law Firm from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Sections 47, 48, 58 and 168 to 172, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Sections 149 to 153, and the Constitution of India, Articles 32 and 226 (official texts).
Section 169 BNSS (formerly Section 150 CrPC): information of a design
Section 169 reads: “Every police officer receiving information of a design to commit any cognizable offence shall communicate such information to the police officer to whom he is subordinate, and to any other officer whose duty it is to prevent or take cognizance of the commission of any such offence.” “Design” is not defined in the BNSS; in ordinary usage it means a plan to commit the offence. The duty is mandatory (“shall”) and runs both up to the officer’s superior and across to any other officer whose duty it is to prevent the offence or take cognizance of it.
Section 170 BNSS (formerly Section 151 CrPC): arrest to prevent a cognizable offence
Many readers still search for this section as “151 CrPC”. It reads:
“170. Arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offences.— (1) A police officer knowing of a design to commit any cognizable offence may arrest, without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented.
(2) No person arrested under sub-section (1) shall be detained in custody for a period exceeding twenty-four hours from the time of his arrest unless his further detention is required or authorised under any other provisions of this Sanhita or of any other law for the time being in force.”
Sub-section (1) sets two conditions, and both must be met. The officer must know of a design to commit a cognizable offence; a design to commit a non-cognizable offence is not enough. And it must appear to him that the offence “cannot be otherwise prevented”, so arrest is the last option, not the first. Only “the person so designing” may be arrested.
Sub-section (2) limits custody to twenty-four hours from the arrest unless “further detention is required or authorised” under another provision. In the case discussed below, the person arrested was produced before a Magistrate and proceedings for security to keep the peace were started under Sections 107 and 116(3) CrPC (now Sections 126 and 135(3) BNSS). Under Section 126 an Executive Magistrate may require a person “likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity” to show cause why he should not execute a bond or bail bond for keeping the peace for up to one year.
Section 170 differs from the ordinary arrest without warrant under Section 35 BNSS (formerly Section 41 CrPC), which mainly concerns a person who has committed, or is reasonably suspected of having committed, a cognizable offence. Section 170 applies before any offence has been committed.
The Supreme Court on Section 151 CrPC: Ahmed Noormohmed Bhatti (2005)
In Ahmed Noormohmed Bhatti v. State of Gujarat, decided on 16 March 2005 by a Bench of three judges (Justices N. Santosh Hegde, B.P. Singh and S.B. Sinha), the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the validity of Section 151 CrPC, which is now Section 170 BNSS in the same words. Justice B.P. Singh explained the two conditions: the officer “can do so only if he has come to know of a design of the person concerned to commit any cognizable offence”, and “the arrest should be made only if it appears to the police officer concerned that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented.”
On the time limit the Court said that “in the absence of anything else, on expiry of 24 hours, he must be released”; any later detention “is not under Section 151” but under the other provision relied on. It concluded that the provision “by no stretch of imagination can be said to be either arbitrary or unreasonable or infringing upon the fundamental rights of a citizen under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India.”
Counsel for the respondents (the State of Gujarat and others) conceded that the arrest safeguards laid down in Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P. (1994) and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) apply to an arrest under Section 151, and the Court held that the statutory guidelines, read with those requirements, “provide an assurance that the power shall not be abused and in case of abuse, the authority concerned shall be adequately punished”.
Section 171 BNSS (formerly Section 152 CrPC): injury to public property
Section 171 reads: “A police officer may of his own authority interpose to prevent any injury attempted to be committed in his view to any public property, movable or immovable, or the removal or injury of any public landmark, buoy or other mark used for navigation.” The officer acts “of his own authority”, without waiting for orders, but the attempt must be “in his view”, that is, happening in front of him. The only textual difference from the CrPC is that “landmark or buoy” has become “landmark, buoy”; the firm’s comparison data treats this as no change.
Section 172 BNSS (new): persons bound to conform to lawful directions of police
Section 172 has no equivalent in the CrPC. It belongs to the same chapter, and its own words tie it to that chapter:
“172. Persons bound to conform to lawful directions of police.— (1) All persons shall be bound to conform to the lawful directions of a police officer given in fulfilment of any of his duty under this Chapter.
(2) A police officer may detain or remove any person resisting, refusing, ignoring or disregarding to conform to any direction given by him under sub-section (1) and may either take such person before a Magistrate or, in petty cases, release him as soon as possible within a period of twenty-four hours.”
The words set three limits. The direction must be “lawful”; it must be given “in fulfilment of any of his duty under this Chapter”, that is, under Sections 168 to 171; and the consequence is detention or removal, followed by production before a Magistrate or, “in petty cases”, release within twenty-four hours. The section does not itself create an offence or prescribe a punishment.
Section 153 CrPC: weights and measures (dropped)
Section 153 CrPC allowed an officer in charge of a police station, without a warrant, to enter any place within the limits of his station to inspect or search for weights, measures or instruments for weighing, “whenever he has reason to believe” that false ones were kept there. He could seize false ones and had to inform a Magistrate at once. The firm’s comparison data records that this section “Does not find place in the new act”: the BNSS has no equivalent.
Arrest under Section 170: limits, safeguards and remedies
A person arrested to prevent an offence has not been accused of any offence, so the limits matter all the more. Because the arrest is made “without a warrant”, the BNSS rules on arrest without warrant apply in their own words:
- Grounds: the officer “shall forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest” (Section 47(1), formerly Section 50 CrPC).
- Relative or friend: a person nominated by the arrested person, and the designated police officer in the district, must be told of the arrest and where he is held (Section 48).
- Memorandum and advocate: a memorandum of arrest attested by a witness and countersigned by the person arrested (Section 36); a meeting with an advocate during interrogation, “though not throughout interrogation” (Section 38).
- Twenty-four hours: no detention beyond twenty-four hours, excluding the journey to the Magistrate’s court, without a special order of a Magistrate (Section 58, formerly Section 57 CrPC), besides the limit in Section 170(2).
The Constitution adds its own protections. Article 21 says: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” Article 22(1) requires that an arrested person be informed “as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest” and not be denied the right to consult a legal practitioner of his choice, and Article 22(2) requires production “before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest”, excluding the journey. Clause (3) makes an exception for enemy aliens and for arrest or detention under “any law providing for preventive detention”. Whether Article 22(1) and (2) apply to an arrest under Section 170 has not been examined here; the BNSS safeguards above apply in their own words. See also the firm’s guide to Article 21 of the Constitution.
Remedy for a wrongful preventive arrest: habeas corpus
If a person is held beyond what the law allows, for example beyond twenty-four hours under Section 170 with no order under any other provision, or if the conditions of Section 170(1) were never met, the constitutional remedy is a writ of habeas corpus. Article 226 empowers every High Court to issue “writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus”, and Article 32(2) gives the same power to the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights, including personal liberty under Article 21. See the firm’s guide to habeas corpus in India. The Supreme Court also said in Bhatti that an officer who arrests without meeting the conditions “may be exposed to proceedings under the law”; it did not specify those proceedings.
Is there a “149 notice” or a Section 149 notice format?
Many readers search for a “149 notice” or a “Section 149 CrPC notice format”. The text of Section 149 CrPC, and of Section 168 BNSS, does not mention a notice: it provides no notice, no format and no consequence for one. It only states the duty of every police officer to prevent cognizable offences.
Two other provisions of the BNSS deal with directions and notices from the police. Section 172(1) BNSS says: “All persons shall be bound to conform to the lawful directions of a police officer given in fulfilment of any of his duty under this Chapter”, and under Section 172(2) a police officer “may detain or remove any person resisting, refusing, ignoring or disregarding to conform to any direction given by him under sub-section (1)” and may either take that person before a Magistrate or, in petty cases, release him within twenty-four hours. Section 35(3) BNSS (formerly Section 41A CrPC) is a different notice: where arrest is not required, the police officer shall issue a notice directing a person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists “that he has committed a cognizable offence, to appear before him or at such other place as may be specified in the notice”.
Related powers elsewhere in the BNSS
Other chapters of the BNSS give Magistrates and the police separate preventive powers, each with its own conditions:
| Power | BNSS (formerly CrPC) | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Security for keeping the peace, bond for up to one year | Section 126 (Section 107) | Executive Magistrate |
| Command an unlawful assembly, or an assembly of five or more likely to disturb the peace, to disperse; use of civil force | Section 148 (Section 129) | Executive Magistrate; officer in charge of a police station; in his absence an officer not below sub-inspector |
| Order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, in force for up to two months (the State Government may extend it by up to six months) | Section 163 (Section 144) | District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or a specially empowered Executive Magistrate |
Section 149 CrPC is not Section 149 IPC
Many searches for “section 149” are really about the Indian Penal Code. Section 149 IPC, now Section 190 BNS without change, says that if an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly “in prosecution of the common object of that assembly”, or one the members knew to be likely, “every person who, at the time of the committing of that offence, is a member of the same assembly, is guilty of that offence.” An unlawful assembly is one of five or more persons with a common object listed in Section 189(1) BNS (formerly Section 141 IPC). That is a rule of criminal liability; Section 149 CrPC is a rule of police duty. Only the number is shared.
| You searched for | What it is | Current law |
|---|---|---|
| Section 149 CrPC | Police to prevent cognizable offences | Section 168 BNSS |
| Section 149 IPC | Every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of the common object | Section 190 BNS |
| Section 149 BNS | Collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against the Government of India | Formerly Section 122 IPC |
| Section 149 BNSS | Use of armed forces to disperse an assembly | Formerly Section 130 CrPC |
Does the CrPC still apply?
Section 531(1) BNSS repealed the CrPC. Under Section 531(2)(a), any “appeal, application, trial, inquiry or investigation” pending immediately before the BNSS came into force on 1 July 2024 continues under the CrPC “as if this Sanhita had not come into force”. Preventive action today is governed by Sections 168 to 172 BNSS. Because Sections 168 to 171 repeat Sections 149 to 152 CrPC, in the firm’s view judgments on the old sections, such as Bhatti, remain a guide.
धारा 149 सीआरपीसी (अब धारा 168 BNSS) – हिंदी में सारांश (Summary in Hindi)
दंड प्रक्रिया संहिता, 1973 (CrPC) की धारा 149 पुलिस के इस कर्तव्य के बारे में थी कि वह संज्ञेय अपराधों को होने से रोके। 1 जुलाई 2024 से यही नियम, बिना किसी बदलाव के, भारतीय नागरिक सुरक्षा संहिता, 2023 (BNSS) की धारा 168 में है। BNSS के आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ में धारा 168 का शीर्षक है: “पुलिस का संज्ञेय अपराधों का निवारण करना”, और यह धारा अध्याय 12 “पुलिस का निवारक कार्य” का हिस्सा है।
आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ (भारत के राजपत्र में प्रकाशित, इंडिया कोड पर उपलब्ध) इस प्रकार है: “168. प्रत्येक पुलिस अधिकारी किसी संज्ञेय अपराध के किए जाने का निवारण करने के प्रयोजन से हस्तक्षेप कर सकेगा और अपनी पूरी सामर्थ्य से उसे निवारित करेगा ।” इसमें दो बातें हैं: पुलिस अधिकारी हस्तक्षेप “कर सकेगा” (यह शक्ति है), और अपनी पूरी सामर्थ्य से अपराध को “निवारित करेगा” (यह कर्तव्य है)। संज्ञेय अपराध वह है जिसमें पुलिस बिना वारंट गिरफ्तार कर सकती है (धारा 2(1)(g) BNSS)।
धारा 169 (पहले धारा 150 CrPC): जिस पुलिस अधिकारी को किसी संज्ञेय अपराध को करने की “परिकल्पना” (योजना) की सूचना मिलती है, उसे यह सूचना अपने वरिष्ठ अधिकारी को और उस अधिकारी को देनी होगी जिसका कर्तव्य उस अपराध को रोकना या उसका संज्ञान करना है। धारा 171 (पहले धारा 152 CrPC): पुलिस अधिकारी अपनी आँखों के सामने सार्वजनिक संपत्ति को नुकसान पहुँचाने के प्रयत्न को अपने ही प्राधिकार से रोक सकता है।
धारा 170 (पहले धारा 151 CrPC) का आधिकारिक शीर्षक है “संज्ञेय अपराधों का किया जाना रोकने के लिए गिरफ्तारी”। इसके अनुसार जिस पुलिस अधिकारी को किसी संज्ञेय अपराध की परिकल्पना का पता है, वह ऐसी परिकल्पना करने वाले व्यक्ति को मजिस्ट्रेट के आदेश और वारंट के बिना तभी गिरफ्तार कर सकता है जब उसे प्रतीत हो कि अपराध को “अन्यथा नहीं रोका जा सकता”। धारा 170(2) के अनुसार ऐसे व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तारी के समय से चौबीस घंटे से अधिक अभिरक्षा में नहीं रखा जा सकता, जब तक कि इस संहिता या किसी अन्य कानून के किसी अन्य उपबंध के अंतर्गत उसे आगे निरुद्ध रखना अपेक्षित या प्राधिकृत न हो। उच्चतम न्यायालय (सुप्रीम कोर्ट) ने 16 मार्च 2005 को अहमद नूरमोहम्मद भट्टी बनाम गुजरात राज्य मामले में धारा 151 CrPC को वैध माना और कहा कि शर्तें पूरी न होने पर गिरफ्तारी करने वाले अधिकारी के विरुद्ध कानूनी कार्यवाही हो सकती है।
धारा 172 BNSS नई है। इसका आधिकारिक शीर्षक है “व्यक्तियों का पुलिस के विधिपूर्ण निदेशों के अनुरूप बाध्य होना”। सभी व्यक्ति इस अध्याय के अंतर्गत कर्तव्य पूरा करने में दिए गए पुलिस अधिकारी के विधिपूर्ण निदेशों का पालन करने के लिए बाध्य हैं। निदेश का विरोध या अवहेलना करने वाले व्यक्ति को पुलिस निरुद्ध कर सकती है या हटा सकती है, और उसे मजिस्ट्रेट के सामने ले जा सकती है या छोटे मामलों में चौबीस घंटे के भीतर यथासंभव शीघ्र छोड़ सकती है। CrPC की धारा 153 (झूठे बाट और माप की जाँच) BNSS में नहीं रखी गई है।
गिरफ्तार व्यक्ति के अधिकार: उसे गिरफ्तारी के आधार बताए जाने चाहिए (धारा 47), उसके किसी रिश्तेदार या मित्र को सूचना दी जानी चाहिए (धारा 48), और बिना वारंट गिरफ्तार व्यक्ति को मजिस्ट्रेट के विशेष आदेश के बिना यात्रा के समय को छोड़कर चौबीस घंटे से अधिक अभिरक्षा में नहीं रखा जा सकता (धारा 58)। संविधान के अनुच्छेद 21 के आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ के अनुसार “किसी व्यक्ति को उसके प्राण या दैहिक स्वतंत्रता से विधि द्वारा स्थापित प्रक्रिया के अनुसार ही वंचित किया जाएगा, अन्यथा नहीं ।” अवैध अभिरक्षा के विरुद्ध उच्च न्यायालय (हाई कोर्ट) (अनुच्छेद 226) या उच्चतम न्यायालय (सुप्रीम कोर्ट) (अनुच्छेद 32) में बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण (habeas corpus; ये तीनों संविधान के आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ के शब्द हैं) रिट याचिका दायर की जा सकती है।
ध्यान दें: धारा 149 CrPC और धारा 149 IPC अलग-अलग हैं। धारा 149 IPC विधिविरुद्ध जमाव (unlawful assembly) के सामान्य उद्देश्य से किए गए अपराध के लिए हर सदस्य को दोषी ठहराती थी; अब यह भारतीय न्याय संहिता, 2023 की धारा 190 है। धारा 149 CrPC के पाठ में किसी “नोटिस” या उसके प्रारूप का उल्लेख नहीं है। इस खंड में धाराओं के उद्धरण और शीर्षक BNSS के आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ से हैं; शेष विवरण फर्म का सारांश है।
Frequently asked questions
Section 168 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in force since 1 July 2024. It repeats Section 149 CrPC without change: “Every police officer may interpose for the purpose of preventing, and shall, to the best of his ability, prevent, the commission of any cognizable offence.” It opens Chapter XII, “Preventive Action of the Police” (Sections 168 to 172 BNSS), which corresponds to Chapter XI of the CrPC (Sections 149 to 153).
Yes, under Section 170 BNSS (formerly Section 151 CrPC), but only on two conditions: the officer must know of a design to commit a cognizable offence, and it must appear to him that the offence “cannot be otherwise prevented”. No warrant or Magistrate’s order is needed. Under Section 170(2) the person cannot be kept in custody for more than twenty-four hours from the arrest unless further detention is required or authorised under another provision of the BNSS or another law.
Section 170(2) BNSS forbids custody beyond twenty-four hours unless another provision requires or authorises it; Section 58 BNSS forbids detention beyond twenty-four hours, excluding the journey, without a special order of a Magistrate; Article 21 protects personal liberty. If a person is held unlawfully, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus can be filed in the High Court under Article 226 or the Supreme Court under Article 32. In Bhatti (2005) the Supreme Court said an officer who arrests without meeting the conditions “may be exposed to proceedings under the law”.
Section 2(1)(g) BNSS (formerly Section 2(c) CrPC) defines a cognizable offence as one for which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule or under any other law for the time being in force, arrest without warrant. A non-cognizable offence is one for which the police have no authority to arrest without warrant (Section 2(1)(o)). Section 168 does not apply to non-cognizable offences.
Section 151 CrPC, “Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences”, is now Section 170 BNSS. The firm’s Gazette-checked comparison data records no change except that “Code” has become “Sanhita”. A police officer who knows of a design to commit a cognizable offence may arrest the person designing it without a warrant if the offence cannot otherwise be prevented, and the person cannot be held beyond twenty-four hours unless another provision of law requires or authorises it.
Not more than twenty-four hours from the time of arrest, unless his further detention is required or authorised under another provision of the BNSS or another law (Section 170(2)). Section 58 BNSS also forbids detaining a person arrested without warrant beyond twenty-four hours, excluding the journey to the Magistrate’s court, without a special order of a Magistrate. The Supreme Court said in Bhatti (2005) that “in the absence of anything else, on expiry of 24 hours, he must be released.”
Yes. In Ahmed Noormohmed Bhatti v. State of Gujarat, decided on 16 March 2005, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that the section lays down its own conditions and a 24-hour limit, and “by no stretch of imagination can be said to be either arbitrary or unreasonable or infringing upon the fundamental rights of a citizen under Articles 21 and 22”. A provision is not unconstitutional merely because an officer may abuse it.
It was not carried into the BNSS. Section 153 CrPC allowed an officer in charge of a police station to enter a place within his station’s limits without a warrant to inspect or search for false weights, measures or weighing instruments, seize any false ones and inform a Magistrate. The BNSS has no equivalent.
A new section in the chapter on preventive action of the police. Under Section 172(1) all persons are bound to conform to the lawful directions of a police officer given in fulfilment of his duty under that chapter. Under Section 172(2) the officer may detain or remove a person who resists or disregards such a direction, and take him before a Magistrate or, in petty cases, release him within twenty-four hours. The CrPC had no equivalent.
Section 149 CrPC, now Section 168 BNSS, does not mention any notice, format or consequence; it only states the police duty to prevent cognizable offences. Section 172(1) BNSS separately binds all persons to conform to the lawful directions of a police officer given under the same chapter, and Section 172(2) allows the officer to detain or remove a person who resists, refuses, ignores or disregards such a direction. The notice to appear in Section 35(3) BNSS (formerly Section 41A CrPC) is a different notice: it is issued to a person suspected of having committed a cognizable offence.
No. Section 149 IPC made every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed by a member in prosecution of the assembly’s common object; it is now Section 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, without change. Section 149 CrPC, now Section 168 BNSS, is about the police duty to prevent cognizable offences. Only the number is shared.
Neither is the old Section 149 CrPC. Section 149 BNS is the offence of collecting arms, etc., with the intention of waging war against the Government of India (formerly Section 122 IPC). Section 149 BNSS deals with the use of armed forces to disperse an assembly (formerly Section 130 CrPC). The police duty to prevent cognizable offences is Section 168 BNSS.
The person must be told the grounds of arrest (Section 47(1)), a relative or friend must be informed (Section 48), a memorandum of arrest must be prepared (Section 36), he may meet an advocate during interrogation though not throughout (Section 38), and he cannot be held beyond twenty-four hours without a Magistrate’s order (Section 58). In Bhatti (2005) counsel for the respondents, including the State, conceded that the Joginder Kumar and D.K. Basu safeguards apply to such arrests.
दंड प्रक्रिया संहिता की धारा 149 पुलिस द्वारा संज्ञेय अपराधों के निवारण के बारे में थी; अब यह भारतीय नागरिक सुरक्षा संहिता, 2023 की धारा 168 है। आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ के अनुसार प्रत्येक पुलिस अधिकारी किसी संज्ञेय अपराध के किए जाने का निवारण करने के प्रयोजन से हस्तक्षेप कर सकेगा और अपनी पूरी सामर्थ्य से उसे निवारित करेगा। यह धारा 149 IPC (अब धारा 190 BNS) से अलग है।
धारा 151 CrPC अब धारा 170 BNSS है, जिसका आधिकारिक शीर्षक “संज्ञेय अपराधों का किया जाना रोकने के लिए गिरफ्तारी” है। जिस पुलिस अधिकारी को संज्ञेय अपराध की परिकल्पना का पता है, वह बिना वारंट गिरफ्तार कर सकता है, पर केवल तब जब अपराध अन्यथा न रोका जा सके। ऐसे व्यक्ति को चौबीस घंटे से अधिक अभिरक्षा में नहीं रखा जा सकता, जब तक किसी अन्य कानूनी उपबंध के अंतर्गत आगे निरुद्ध रखना अपेक्षित या प्राधिकृत न हो।
Conclusion
Section 149 CrPC lives on, unchanged, as Section 168 BNSS: every police officer may interpose to prevent a cognizable offence and must, as far as he can, prevent it. The specific tools are in Sections 169 to 171 (formerly 150 to 152 CrPC) and the new Section 172; the old power over weights and measures (Section 153 CrPC) has gone.
The power to arrest before any offence is committed needs both conditions of Section 170(1) and ends at twenty-four hours unless another provision authorises more. The Supreme Court upheld it in 2005 for those reasons, and unlawful custody can be challenged by a writ of habeas corpus.
Sources used for this post: the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act 46 of 2023), Sections 2(1)(g) and (o), 35, 36, 38, 47, 48, 58, 62, 126, 135, 148, 149, 163, 168 to 172 and 531 (India Code, English text as on 6 October 2025; Hindi text of Sections 168 to 172 as published in the Gazette, read from the page images); the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974, repealed), Sections 149 to 153 (India Code copy of the Act as enacted); the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Sections 132, 149, 189 and 190, and the firm’s Gazette-checked CrPC–BNSS and IPC–BNS comparison data; the Constitution of India, Articles 21, 22, 32 and 226 (Legislative Department, English edition of 2026, and the Hindi edition as on 1 May 2024 for Articles 21, 32 and 226); and the Supreme Court’s official copy of Ahmed Noormohmed Bhatti v. State of Gujarat and Ors., Appeal (Crl.) No. 109 of 2001, 16 March 2005 (official copy).