Section 162

Public nuisances—like blocking a road, polluting a water source, or running a noisy or dangerous activity that affects the general public—need quick administrative action, not just a slow criminal trial. This provision (carried forward from Section 143 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure) gives designated magistrates and senior police officers a direct, preventive power to stop such nuisances before they cause more harm, without waiting for a full prosecution under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Under the identical predecessor provision (Section 143 CrPC), courts have held that this power is preventive and administrative in nature, meant to stop an ongoing or repeated nuisance rather than punish past conduct. Courts have emphasized that the magistrate must act based on the nuisance as defined in substantive penal law, and that such orders are distinct from the more elaborate conditional orders under provisions dealing with urgent nuisance or apprehended danger.

• Myth: Only a magistrate can use this power.
  Fact: A Deputy Commissioner of Police can also use this power, but only if the State Government or District Magistrate has specifically empowered them to do so.
• Myth: This section itself defines what counts as a public nuisance.
  Fact: It does not define nuisance; it relies on the definition given in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, or other special or local laws.