Why Colonial-Era Tools Are Back in the Spotlight
In 2023, the Indian Parliament introduced three new criminal laws to replace colonial-era statutes. The government promised a completely indigenous criminal justice system. Yet, nearly three years later, legal experts and citizens are noticing a familiar trend. Preventive policing tools designed centuries ago are still active on the streets.
During recent demonstrations in the national capital, several activists, student leaders, and journalists found themselves facing a peculiar legal requirement. Instead of immediate formal charges for a specific crime, authorities asked them to sign peace bonds. This practice has reignited a nationwide debate on personal liberty, state power, and the survival of British-era legal mechanisms in modern India.
The History of Peace Bonds: From Medieval England to the British Raj
The concept of the peace bond is not a native Indian invention. Its roots trace back over six centuries to Medieval England. In 1361, King Edward III enacted the Justices of the Peace Act. This law empowered local magistrates to demand sureties from individuals suspected of being threats to public order.
Over the centuries, various monarchs used these powers to suppress political dissent and enforce royal authority. When the British Raj established its governance in India, it imported this entire legal apparatus. The colonial administration codified these practices to stifle the Indian freedom struggle, targeting activists, journalists, and leaders who challenged British rule.
Independent India retained these preventive tools. The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973 carried forward provisions allowing executive magistrates to demand bonds and sureties. When the central government introduced the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in 2023, critics argued it was merely old wine in a new bottle.
What The Law Says: Section 126 of the BNSS
Under the current legal framework, preventive policing is governed by specific provisions. Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) empowers executive magistrates to demand undertakings from individuals to maintain peace.
- Who issues them: Executive magistrates or special executive magistrates, who are often police officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
- The duration: An individual can be required to furnish an undertaking to maintain peace and good behavior for a period of up to one year.
- The requirement: The person must execute a personal bond and furnish cash or local sureties.
- Consequences of violation: Violating the bond can lead to detention or forfeiture of the surety. Under Section 170 of the BNSS, authorities can make a fresh preventive arrest if they believe a cognizable offence is about to be committed.
The Legal Debate: Protection or Overreach?
The application of Section 126 during recent protests has divided legal opinions. Prominent criminal law practitioners have expressed contrasting views on the matter.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh argued that these provisions are frequently misused as an overreach of state power. He noted that signing a peace bond for one specific protest does not automatically criminalize subsequent, unrelated actions, and criticized the routine rejection of sureties by authorities.
On the other hand, Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey defended the mechanism as a necessary preventive measure. He stated that peace bonds do not imply a criminal conviction, but rather act as a precautionary tool to balance public order and citizen rights under the existing legislative framework.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate N Hariharan pointed out that while courts have historically tried to regulate these powers, the fundamental question remains whether judicial interventions are enough to prevent executive misuse.
Why This Matters For You
For everyday citizens, law students, and young professionals, understanding preventive laws is crucial for awareness of fundamental rights. The line between maintaining public order and protecting the constitutional right to peaceful assembly remains a heavily contested legal battleground in India.
As long as the executive holds the power to bind down citizens before any offense is proven, the debate over colonial-era penal tools in a democratic nation will continue to shape our legal landscape.
Story reported by Barandbench. This article is BareLaw’s independent explanation and analysis.
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