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IPC 1860REPEALED
Section 124
Assaulting President, Governor, etc., with Intent to Compel or Restrain the Exercise of Lawful Power
Replaced by: BNS 148
Non-BailableCognizable: CognizableCourt of Session
THE STATUTE
Original Text
Whoever, with the intention of inducing or compelling the President of India, or the Governor of any State, to exercise or refrain from exercising in any manner any of the lawful powers of such President or Governor, assaults or wrongfully restrains, or attempts wrongfully to restrain, or overawes by means of criminal force, or the show of criminal force, or attempts so to overawe, such President or Governor, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Simplified
Section 124 protects the constitutional offices of the President of India and State Governors from physical coercion designed to influence the exercise of their lawful powers. The provision is distinct from Section 124A (sedition) in that it requires physical assault or criminal force — it targets direct physical intimidation of constitutional heads of state to compel or restrain specific official acts. Critically, the offence focuses on the purpose of the assault: compelling or restraining the exercise of lawful powers. A random assault on the President without this specific purpose would be covered by ordinary assault provisions. The life imprisonment maximum reflects the gravity of physically coercing India's constitutional heads of state. In practice, Section 124 is rarely invoked because the security protocols surrounding the President and Governors make such attempts extremely uncommon.
Legal Evolution
Section 124 was enacted in the original IPC 1860, initially referring to 'Queen or Governor-General.' Post-independence adaptation substituted the President of India and State Governors. The BNS equivalent is Section 148, which modernises the language while preserving the protective framework for constitutional office holders.
Practical Scenarios
"Physically attacking the President of India to force them to withhold assent to a bill — Section 124."
"Wrongfully restraining a Governor to prevent them from swearing in a Chief Minister — Section 124."
Common Queries
No — they are distinct offences. Section 124 requires physical assault or criminal force against the President or Governor with the specific intent of compelling official action. Sedition (Section 124A) covers words, signs, or visible representations intended to excite disaffection against the Government.
Section 124 specifically protects constitutional heads of state — the President and Governors. The Prime Minister and Chief Ministers, as heads of government rather than constitutional heads of state, are covered by general assault and criminal intimidation provisions rather than Section 124.