common object

An assembly of five or more persons is unlawful if its common object is one of those listed in s.189 BNS (old s.141 IPC). Under s.190 BNS (old s.149), if any member commits an offence in prosecution of the common object, or one the members knew was likely to be committed, every member at that time is guilty of it.

Unlike common intention, this section creates a distinct offence and must be specifically charged. No overt act or prior meeting of minds is required; membership is enough. Because large groups invite false implication, courts look carefully at whether each accused was a member and not a bystander, and may insist on consistent testimony from several witnesses.

Example

Since all eight accused came armed and joined in the attack, each is liable under section 190 BNS for the murder committed in prosecution of their common object.

In Indian law

• Sections 189 and 190, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (old ss.141 and 149 IPC)
• Masalti v. State of U.P., 1964 INSC 149: membership of the unlawful assembly, and testing evidence against large numbers of accused

See also

unlawful assembly · common intention

Read more in the study notes

• The Mediation Act, 2023: scheme, enforcement and status (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Preventive action of the police (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Crime: meaning, elements and stages (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
• Mob lynching, death by negligence and hit and run (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
• Offences against the State (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
• Offences against public tranquillity (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)