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BNS 2024ACTIVE FRAMEWORK
Section 148
Conspiracy to Commit Offences Punishable by Section 147
Replaces colonial-era: IPC 121A
Non-BailableCognizable: CognizableCourt of Session
Reform Highlights
1
Renumbered from IPC 121A to BNS 148.
2
Life or 10-year maximum preserved.
3
Cross-border conspiracy application preserved — 'within or without India.'
THE STATUTE
The Clause
Whoever within or without India conspires to commit any of the offences punishable by section 147, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or the Government of a State, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Legal Commentary
Section 148 criminalises the planning stage of rebellion — the agreement to wage war against the Indian state or to overawe the government through criminal force, without the requirement that any actual act of rebellion occurs. Unlike standard criminal conspiracy (Section 61) which requires an overt act for non-criminal object agreements, Section 148 makes the conspiracy itself the completed offence — the agreement to wage war is sufficient without any additional step. Critically, this provision applies to conspiracies formed 'within or without India' — explicitly covering cross-border planning and diaspora-based conspiracies to destabilise the Indian state. This provision is used alongside UAPA in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency prosecutions where the planning infrastructure of an armed rebellion is targeted before it materialises into actual violence.
Case Simulations
"A secret meeting outside India to plan an armed attack on Indian Parliament — Section 148."
"Diaspora group conspiring to fund and organise armed rebellion in India — Section 148."
Expert Insights
Yes — conspiracies to overawe (create such fear through force that the government is compelled to act or refrain from acting) fall within Section 148, even without a plan for full armed insurrection.