Executive Magistrates under the BNSS

Executive Magistrates are authorities who take preventive action to maintain peace and public order, rather than try people for criminal offences. Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), they conduct preventive proceedings to address anticipated breaches of peace, public nuisances and specified disputes before these escalate.

Statutory position and appointment

The BNSS distinguishes Executive Magistrates from Judicial Magistrates. Their preventive responsibilities combine executive administration with statutory inquiries that require procedural fairness.

• Under Section 14, the State Government appoints Executive Magistrates and appoints one of them as the District Magistrate.
• Under Section 15, the State Government may appoint Special Executive Magistrates for specified terms, areas or functions and confer such Executive Magistrate powers as it considers appropriate.
• Appointment as a Special Executive Magistrate does not automatically confer every preventive power; the powers actually conferred must be examined.

Principal preventive functions

The central purpose is to prevent threatened harm through legally authorised proceedings, not to determine criminal guilt.

• Under Section 126, an Executive Magistrate receiving information about a likely breach of peace or disturbance of public tranquillity may require the person concerned to show cause against executing a bond, with or without sureties, for keeping the peace.
• Under Section 152, specified Executive Magistrates may issue conditional orders for removing public nuisances, subject to the prescribed proceedings.
• Under Section 163, specified Executive Magistrates may issue written orders stating material facts in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger; emergency circumstances can justify an ex parte order.
• Under Section 164, an Executive Magistrate may address disputes concerning land or water likely to cause a breach of peace, focusing on actual possession rather than deciding ownership.

Procedure and limits on preventive authority

Preventive jurisdiction is not an unrestricted power to restrain individuals. The BNSS requires statutory grounds and procedural safeguards, particularly where liberty is affected.

• In security proceedings, the Magistrate must make a written order stating the substance of the information and the proposed bond requirements.
• The Magistrate must inquire into the truth of the information; security can be ordered when its necessity is established, while an unproved case requires discharge.
• Interim security during the inquiry requires statutory justification and recorded reasons; it is not an automatic consequence of initiating proceedings.
• Executive Magistrates do not use these proceedings to convict a person of an offence or finally adjudicate civil title.