Justice in the Crowd: Rethinking Joint Liability under India's Unlawful Assembly Law

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the doctrine of joint liability as  enshrined in Sections 189 and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya  Sanhita, 2023, in the context of illegal assemblies and mob  violence. As collective violence increasingly becomes a common  threat to public order and rule of law in India, the legal  framework that governs group offences needs to be re-examined. The Section 190 BNS provision still makes all members of an  unlawful assembly guilty of offences done in the course of and in  pursuance of the common object of the group, even without  individual mens rea or personal participation. Although this  model facilitates effective prosecution of crowd crimes, it poses  serious issues of overreach, fairness in evidence, and  constitutional due process. Based on a reading of legal  documents, case law, and comparative jurisprudence, this essay  discusses whether India's existing approach finds the  appropriate balance between collective responsibility and  individual justice. The essay also discusses judicial challenges in  applying the doctrine and calls for a redrafted legal framework  that includes more defined thresholds of culpability, protection  against abuse, and possibly, specialized legislation on lynching  and vigilante violence. By doing that, the article adds to the  debate of criminal justice reform within post-colonial legal  traditions.