Security for Keeping Peace and Good Behaviour under Indian Criminal Law

Introduction

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), provides preventive measures to maintain peace and public order. Sections 106 to 110 allow courts and Executive Magistrates to require certain persons to provide security for keeping the peace or maintaining good behaviour. These provisions aim to prevent future offences and disturbances rather than punish a person for past conduct.

Meaning and Definition

Security for keeping peace and good behaviour means a legal guarantee given by a person through a bond (a written promise to follow specified conditions) to maintain peace or behave properly for a specified period.

The bond may be executed:

• With sureties: One or more persons guarantee that the person will comply with the bond's conditions.
• Without sureties: The person gives the bond without another person acting as a guarantor.

If a person is required to provide security, the authority must follow the procedure prescribed by law. The requirement is not a punishment by itself; it is a preventive measure intended to reduce the risk of future misconduct.

Purpose and Nature

• Preventive purpose: The provisions aim to prevent breaches of peace and future offences.
• Protection of society: They help protect the public from conduct likely to disturb peace or public order.
• Not a punishment for past offences: A person should not be required to provide security merely as an additional punishment for an earlier offence.
• Legal safeguards: The person must be given the opportunity to respond to the grounds for the proposed action, as required by law.

Types of Security Proceedings under the CrPC

Sections 106 to 110 deal with different situations in which security may be required.

Section 106 — Security for Keeping Peace on Conviction

Section 106 applies when a person is convicted of certain offences. At the time of passing sentence, the Court of Session or a Magistrate of the First Class may order the convicted person to execute a bond for keeping the peace.

When Can Security Be Ordered?

The order may be made in connection with specified offences, including:

• Certain offences under Chapter VIII of the Indian Penal Code, subject to the exclusions stated in Section 106.
• Offences involving assault or the use of criminal force.
• Offences involving mischief (wrongful damage to property).
• Offences involving criminal intimidation (threatening another person with harm).
• Any other offence that caused, or was intended or known to be likely to cause, a breach of the peace.

Period of Security

The bond may be required for a period not exceeding three years.

The court may require the bond with or without sureties.

Important Feature

The main feature of Section 106 is that the order for security is made at the time of conviction and passing of sentence. This distinguishes it from Sections 107 to 110, which deal with preventive proceedings in other circumstances.

Section 107 — Security for Keeping Peace in Other Cases

Section 107 empowers an Executive Magistrate to take preventive action when there is information that a person is likely to disturb public peace.

Grounds for Action

The Magistrate may require a person to show cause (explain why an order should not be made) if there is information that the person is likely to:

• Commit a breach of the peace.
• Disturb public tranquillity (peace and order in the community).
• Commit a wrongful act that may probably lead to a breach of the peace or disturbance of public tranquillity.

Period of Security

The Magistrate may require a bond, with or without sureties, for keeping the peace for a period not exceeding one year.

Situations Where Section 107 May Apply

This provision may be used to prevent disturbances connected with:

• Religious processions and festivals.
• Fairs and public gatherings.
• Elections and political activities.
• Disputes between groups or rival factions.
• Other situations in which conduct is likely to disturb public peace.

It is not necessary in every case for two opposing groups to be involved. However, there must be a proper basis for believing that a breach of the peace or disturbance of public tranquillity is likely.

Section 108 — Security for Good Behaviour from Persons Disseminating Specified Matters

Section 108 deals with certain persons who disseminate (spread or circulate) specified unlawful or harmful matters.

Grounds for Action

An Executive Magistrate may act when there is sufficient ground to proceed against a person who, within or outside the Magistrate's local jurisdiction, engages in conduct covered by the section.

The conduct described in the original Section 108 includes:

• Intentionally spreading, attempting to spread, or helping to spread specified matters whose publication was punishable under certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
• Circulating specified matters concerning a judge acting in an official capacity, where the matters amount to criminal intimidation or defamation under the applicable law.
• Producing, publishing, selling, distributing, publicly exhibiting or otherwise circulating obscene material covered by the relevant legal provision.

The exact scope of this section depends on the statutory wording and the law applicable to the case.

Period of Security

The Executive Magistrate may require the person to show cause why a bond for good behaviour should not be ordered.

The bond may be required with or without sureties for a period not exceeding one year.

Important Feature

Section 108 concerns specified forms of dissemination or circulation of material. It does not give the Magistrate unlimited power to restrict speech or expression; the statutory grounds and required procedure must be satisfied.

Section 109 — Security for Good Behaviour from Suspected Persons

Section 109 applies to certain suspected persons whose conduct gives reasonable grounds for concern about the possible commission of a cognizable offence.

A cognizable offence is an offence for which the police may generally arrest without a warrant and investigate without first obtaining a court order, subject to the applicable law.

Grounds for Action

An Executive Magistrate may act when information indicates that:

• A person is taking precautions to conceal their presence within the Magistrate's local jurisdiction; and
• There are reasons to believe that the concealment is intended to facilitate the commission of a cognizable offence.

The Magistrate may require the person to show cause why a bond for good behaviour should not be ordered.

Period of Security

The bond may be required with or without sureties for a period not exceeding one year.

Important Feature

Mere suspicion or a person's presence in an area is not, by itself, enough. The statutory conditions must be met, and the person must be dealt with according to the procedure prescribed by law.

Section 110 — Security for Good Behaviour from Habitual Offenders

Section 110 deals with persons described in the section as habitual offenders or persons whose repeated conduct falls within its specified categories.

The purpose is to prevent further offences by persons whose established pattern of conduct gives a proper legal basis for preventive action.

Who May Be Proceeded Against?

The section covers specified categories of persons, including those who repeatedly engage in conduct such as:

• Habitual robbery, housebreaking, theft or forgery.
• Habitual receipt of stolen property, where the statutory conditions are met.
• Habitual protection of persons involved in robbery or theft, or assistance in concealing or disposing of stolen property.
• Repeated commission or attempted commission of specified offences involving public order, public safety or other conduct covered by the section.
• Conduct falling within the other categories expressly set out in Section 110.

The exact category must be established from the statutory provisions and the facts of the case.

Jurisdiction of the Magistrate

The proceedings must satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of Section 110. The person must be within the local limits of the Magistrate's jurisdiction when the proceedings are initiated. Temporary presence may be sufficient, provided the person is present when the proceedings begin.

Basis for Proceedings

Information about a person's conduct should be supported by reliable details. Records of previous incidents and careful police observation may be relevant, but a person's reputation or a general accusation alone should not replace the legal requirements.

Preventive Nature

The purpose of Section 110 is to protect society from the risk of further offences. It is not intended to impose an additional punishment for past offences.

The security required must be justified by the circumstances and must not be excessive.

Comparison of Sections 106 to 110 CrPC

Distinction Between Sections 106 and 107 to 110

Section 106

• Applies after a person has been convicted of a specified offence.
• The order is made when the court passes sentence.
• Security is required for keeping the peace.
• The maximum period is three years.

Sections 107 to 110

• Deal with preventive proceedings in situations specified by law.
• Do not depend on a conviction in the same manner as Section 106.
• Require the Magistrate to follow the prescribed procedure and give the person an opportunity to show cause.
• Provide for security for keeping the peace or good behaviour, depending on the section.
• The maximum period under each of these sections is one year.

Practical Examples

Example of Section 107

Two groups in a town are involved in an ongoing dispute. The Executive Magistrate receives reliable information that a planned gathering is likely to lead to violence and disturb public peace.

If the legal conditions are satisfied, the Magistrate may initiate proceedings under Section 107 and require the relevant person to show cause why a bond for keeping the peace should not be ordered.

Example of Section 109

The police report that a person is deliberately concealing their presence in an area and that there are reasonable grounds to believe this is being done to facilitate a cognizable offence.

If the statutory requirements are met, the Executive Magistrate may initiate proceedings under Section 109 and require the person to show cause why a bond for good behaviour should not be ordered.

Example of Section 110

A person has repeatedly engaged in conduct falling within a category of habitual offending covered by Section 110. Reliable information supports concern that further offences may occur.

If the legal conditions are satisfied, the Executive Magistrate may initiate preventive proceedings to require security for good behaviour.

Current Legal Position

The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, was replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which came into force on 1 July 2024, subject to applicable transitional provisions.

Sections 106 to 110 CrPC are relevant to matters governed by the earlier Code. For current proceedings, the corresponding provisions of the BNSS and any applicable transitional rules must be considered.

Summary

• Sections 106 to 110 CrPC provide preventive measures to maintain peace and good behaviour.
• Security is given through a bond, with or without sureties.
• Section 106 applies when a person is convicted of specified offences and allows a peace bond for up to three years.
• Section 107 deals with persons likely to cause a breach of the peace or disturb public tranquillity.
• Section 108 concerns specified forms of dissemination or circulation of unlawful material.
• Section 109 concerns suspected persons who conceal their presence with the required suspected purpose.
• Section 110 deals with habitual offenders falling within the categories specified by law.
• The maximum period under Sections 107 to 110 is one year.
• These provisions are preventive, not intended as additional punishment for past conduct.
• The applicable BNSS provisions and transitional rules must be considered for current proceedings.