Understanding Civil Restrictions - LockDown vs Section 144 vs Curfew

For the last several months India has been witnessing the several protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizenship, etc… Now the nation and world at large is grappling with the novel CoVid-19 pandemic. To cope up with such situation government authorities have place several civil restrictions. In such a context it would be pertinent to know the key differences among civil restrictions like Lock Down, Section 144 of CrPC and Curfew.

Lock Down

A lock down is a situation in which there is a restriction on assembly but essential services like hospitals, banks, ATMs, grocery stores, vegetables, and milk shops are still available.

When an epidemic rages, state governments under Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 have power to take special measures and prescribe regulations to prevent the spread of dangerous epidemic disease. This section gives state governments sweeping discretionary powers to mould restrictions as per the need. A lock down can be enforced by a Collector or Chief Medical Officer in their particular area under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 provides penalties for disobeying any regulation or order made under the act. These are according to section 188 of the IPC. Under a lockdown, the police do not have the power to arrest anyone who is violating the lockdown without the court’s permission. They can issue a warning and advise the people to head home. If the person gets adversarial, the police does have the right to arrest them under Section 269 and 270 of the IPC which applies for a “malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life”. If someone were to escape from quarantine, the authorities can book him under Section 271 of the IPC which applies to disobedience to quarantine rule.

Section 144

Section 144 of CrPC empowers the administration (District magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate) to issue order in urgent cases. The order has to be set in writing with clear reasons.

The administration is empowered to impose restriction on the personal liberty of individuals. This means the fundamental right of peaceful assembly provided under Article 19 of the constitution can be curtailed. Usually, assembly of 5 or more people within a particular area is prohibited under the Section 144 CrPC. Under the law, anyone found in violation will be booked for disobeying a public servant under Section 188 of IPC.

As a matter of rule, Section 144 is imposed for 2 months but it can be withdrawn any moment the administration finds the situation has attained normalcy. The government may extend the duration of restriction imposed under section 144 beyond 2 months but not exceeding 6 months in one stretch. However, there are certain places which are highly sensitive have section 144 imposed in the surrounding areas all the time. Parliament building complex and the SC are among such area where section 144 is always in force.

Curfew

A curfew is a situation in which, Section 144 is imposed along with shut down of all essential services. Except emergency services like hospitals, all the other services like banks, ATMs, grocery stores, vegetables and milk shops will all be shut.

All public activity is barred. Civilian traffic is also stopped. No one can venture out even individually. Only administration and police personnel are allowed on the street. Special passes are required for movement during curfew. Once the curfew is implemented, the district administration is exempt from action. Curfew is when the power is with the Collector and the Police Commissioner. Depending on the situation, the police could also be empowered to shoot violators. Curfew warrants much graver situation posing bigger danger.

	Lock Down	Section 144	Curfew
Source of Power	Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897	Criminal Procedure Code	Un Certain but widely regarded as the inherent executive power of state government
Enforcing Authority	Collector or Chief Medical Officer	District Magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate	Collector and the Police Commissioner
Services available	Essential and emergency services	Essential and emergency services	Only Emergency services
Violation	Can lead to legal action	Can lead to strict legal action	Can lead to legal as well as executive action
Movement restriction	Yes, with few exception	Yes, with few exception	Yes, with very few exception. Special passes are required for movement.

Various state governments in their effort to combat novel CoVid-19 have actually used a combination of Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, and Section 144 of CrPC to ensure social distancing.