BACK TO SECTIONSAIR 1965 SC 202
IPC 1860REPEALED
Section 150
Hiring, or conniving at hiring, of persons to join unlawful assembly
Replaced by: BNS 193
BailableCognizable: CognizableAny Magistrate
THE STATUTE
Original Text
Whoever hires or engages, or employs, or promotes, or connives at the hiring, engagement or employment of any person to join or become a member of any unlawful assembly, shall be punishable as a member of such unlawful assembly, and for any offence which may be committed by any such person as a member of such unlawful assembly in pursuance of such hiring, engagement or employment, in the same manner as if he had been a member of such unlawful assembly, or himself had committed such offence.
Simplified
Section 150 targets the financiers and organisers of unlawful assemblies — those who pay or recruit others to form or join an illegal mob. It makes such recruiters/employers equally liable as members of the unlawful assembly itself, and for any offence committed by the assembly members they hired. This provision is essential for prosecuting political actors, criminal syndicates, and communal organisations that pay people to form mobs — holding the 'sponsors' criminally responsible even if they were not physically present at the scene.
Legal Evolution
Section 150 on hiring persons to join an unlawful assembly addresses a specific form of facilitating public disorder — the procurement of persons to participate in an unlawful assembly for hire. Drawn from English law on incitement and conspiracy, it targets the organizers and financiers of mob violence rather than the participants themselves. Courts have applied it in cases of organized communal violence and political riots where evidence shows payment to participants.
Landmark Precedents
Masalti v. State of UP (1964)
RELEVANCE
Collective liability principles extend to those who hire or organise unlawful assembly members — those who recruit and finance mob violence are as culpable as the mob members themselves.
Practical Scenarios
"A political actor who pays daily labourers to form a mob and vandalize rival property — Section 150 makes the political actor liable as a mob member."
"A criminal syndicate that hires people to block a rival's business — Section 150."
Common Queries
Yes — Section 150 makes the person who hired or engaged others to join an unlawful assembly liable as a member and equally liable for any offences committed by the mob in pursuance of that hiring.