Question:medium

Assertion (A): The essence of joint liability under section 149 of the IPC is that the criminal act must have been done with a view to fulfill the common object of an unlawful assembly.
Reason (R): Any sudden and provocative act done by a member of an unlawful assembly would render the other members of that assembly liable.

Show Hint

Section 149 fastens liability only for acts done in prosecution of the common object, or known to be likely in prosecution of it. Test the reason against that limit.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
  • Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  • A is true but R is false
  • A is false but R is true
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Section 149 is one of the widest liability provisions in the Penal Code, but it is not unlimited. Everything hangs on one phrase: in prosecution of the common object. Keep that phrase in view and the two statements sort themselves out quickly.

  1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A: Wrong. The reason is not a true statement of law.
  2. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A: Wrong for the same reason.
  3. A is true but R is false: Correct.
  4. A is false but R is true: Wrong on both halves.

The section has two limbs. Under the first, an offence committed by any member in prosecution of the common object binds every member. Under the second, an offence that the members knew was likely to be committed in prosecution of that object also binds them all. Both limbs run through the common object. The assertion says exactly this, so it is sound.

The reason quietly deletes that link. On its wording, a sudden and provocative act by one man would drag in everyone else, no matter what the assembly had gathered to do. Test it with an example. Five men assemble to forcibly harvest a disputed crop. One of them, on seeing an old personal enemy walk past, breaks away and stabs him. That stabbing has nothing to do with the harvesting. It was not in prosecution of the common object and nobody knew it was likely to happen in prosecution of that object. The knifeman answers for it alone; the other four do not.

The wider point is that Section 149 is not insurance against every independent act of every companion. Constructive liability travels only along the channel of the common object, and a sudden individual impulse falls outside that channel.

Let's summarize:

  • Assertion: true, common object is the essence of Section 149.
  • Reason: false, a sudden act unconnected with the common object binds only its doer.

So the assertion stands, the reason falls, and option (C) is the answer.

Was this answer helpful?
0

Top Questions on Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Questions Asked in CLAT exam

Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): The work which Gandhiji had taken up was not only regarding the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a new social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood and maximum freedom for all. A new order cannot be established without radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards property and, at some stage or the other, the 'haves' have to yield place to the 'have-nots'. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force. It may even be that, like a gas kept confined within containers under great pressure, or water held back by a big dam, once the barrier breaks, the reaction will one day sweep back with a violence equal in extent and intensity to what was used to establish and maintain the outward egalitarian form. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction. If egalitarianism is to endure, it has to be based not on the possession of the maximum material goods by a few or by all but on voluntary, enlightened renunciation of those goods which cannot be shared by others or can be enjoyed only at the expense of others.

According to the passage, egalitarianism will not survive if
View Solution
Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): The work which Gandhiji had taken up was not only regarding the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a new social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood and maximum freedom for all. This unfinished part of his experiment was perhaps even more difficult to achieve than the achievement of political freedom. In the political struggle, the fight was against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his/her moral support. In establishing a social order on this pattern, there was a strong possibility of a conflict arising between diverse groups and classes of our own people.

According to the passage, which was the unfinished part of Gandhi's experiment?
View Solution
Read the passage and answer the question.

Passage (extract): In the political struggle, the fight was against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his/her moral support. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival of his descendants even after his body is reduced to ashes. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction. The root cause of class conflict is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct.

Which of the following statements is 'not true' in the context of the passage?
View Solution