Conditional Order to Remove a Public Nuisance Under the BNSS (Section 152): CrPC 133 Mapping (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

An illegal structure blocks a public road, a factory spews smoke over a colony, or an unsafe building leans over a street. People want a fast, cheap remedy, not a long civil suit. Indian criminal procedure gives a Magistrate a summary power to order the nuisance removed. From 1 July 2024 this power sits in Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). This explainer sets out what the section is, what changed, how the order works, and what happens if it is ignored. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem a public nuisance creates

A public nuisance harms the public at large, not just one neighbour. A civil suit by one person is slow and does not fit the need to act quickly for everyone affected.

The kinds of problems this power is meant to fix include:

• An unlawful obstruction or nuisance on a public place, road or waterway.
• A trade or occupation that is injurious to the health or physical comfort of the community.
• An unsafe building, structure, tree, or tank likely to fall and cause harm.
• A dangerous construction, or the keeping of goods or substances that could cause an explosion or fire.

Section 152 gives a Magistrate a quick, public-facing remedy. It is preventive and corrective, not a trial of a crime already done.

02What Section 152 of the BNSS is

Section 152 of the BNSS is the conditional order for removal of a public nuisance. It is the direct successor to Section 133 of the CrPC, and it came into force on 1 July 2024. The sources describe the law as unchanged apart from the new section number.

In plain terms, a District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or other Executive Magistrate specially empowered by the State, acting on a police report or other information, may make a conditional order requiring the person responsible to remove the nuisance within a set time, or else to appear and show cause why the order should not be made absolute.

Section 152 of the BNSS gives two choices: remove the nuisance within the time set, or appear and show cause why you should not have to.

This is procedure, not a penal offence. Section 152 itself carries no punishment. It is the failure to obey a final order that carries a penal consequence.

03Old to new: CrPC 133 to BNSS 152

The public nuisance chapter has moved together, so the companion steps have new numbers too.

On substance the remedy is carried over. One modern touch is that appearance or the hearing on the order may be allowed through audio-video means, in line with the BNSS push towards electronic procedure. Otherwise Section 152 substantially corresponds to Section 133 of the CrPC.

04What counts as a nuisance

The section lists the situations in which a Magistrate can act. In plain terms they cover:

• an unlawful obstruction or nuisance on any public place or on a way, river or channel used by the public;
• the conduct of any trade or occupation, or the keeping of goods, that is injurious to health or physical comfort;
• the construction of a building, or the disposal of a substance, likely to cause an explosion;
• a building, tent, structure, tree, or tank in such a condition that it is likely to fall and cause harm;
• a dangerous tank, well or excavation near a public way, or a dangerous animal that needs to be destroyed, confined or disposed of.

The Magistrate acts on a police report or other information, and can make the first order without hearing the other side, because the person then gets a chance to show cause.

05How the order works

The structure is simple and is built around the word "conditional".

The conditional order

The Magistrate passes an order telling the person either to remove the nuisance (or stop the trade, or fix the structure) within a stated time, or to appear before the court and show cause why the order should not be made absolute.

Showing cause

If the person appears and denies the existence of a public nuisance, the Magistrate takes evidence and decides. If the person does not appear or does not show good cause, the court can make the order final.

Making the order absolute

Once the order is made absolute under Section 155 of the BNSS (the old Section 136), the person must obey it. The court can then enforce it, and the person who still ignores it is exposed to a penal consequence.

06What happens if it is ignored

Section 152 is procedure and has no punishment of its own. The penal consequence comes when a person disobeys the final order.

Disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant is an offence under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which replaced Section 188 of the IPC. For the penal side, see our explainer on disobedience to an order of a public servant under Section 223 of the BNS.

So the two provisions work together: Section 152 of the BNSS lets the Magistrate order the nuisance removed, and Section 223 of the BNS punishes the person who defies a lawful order.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A conditional order under Section 152 moves through show-cause hearings, and sometimes a writ challenge, and each step rests on how earlier benches have read the power. Claw puts that reading within reach. A single search covers more than 30 crore judgments on Section 152 of the BNSS and the old Section 133 of the CrPC and comes back in under five seconds, drawing on Supreme Court decisions since 1950 and High Court decisions since 1990. Once a matter is before a court, Claw follows its cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, located by party or advocate name.

Create a free Claw account to look up nuisance-removal authorities and keep a live order in view. Claw does not pass or oppose the order for you and is not a substitute for legal advice, and it does not use customer case documents to train its AI models.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNSS): indiacode.nic.in
• Ministry of Home Affairs: mha.gov.in
• Text of Section 152 BNSS: devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

09Frequently asked questions