Section 148

This provision continues a rule first added to the Indian Penal Code in 1913 (as Section 121A) after colonial authorities worried that revolutionary and anti-colonial plots were being planned abroad and could not be prosecuted unless an actual attack occurred. Lawmakers wanted to criminalize the planning stage itself — the conspiracy — rather than wait for an uprising or armed attack to actually happen. The BNS, 2023 retains this logic almost unchanged, recognizing that plots to wage war or coerce government through force remain a serious threat to the State's stability, whether hatched inside India or abroad.

Under the identical predecessor provision (IPC Section 121A), courts have held that the offence is complete the moment there is an agreement to wage war or to overawe the Government by criminal force — no overt act, weapon, or attack is legally required, because the Explanation removes that requirement. This principle was applied in high-profile prosecutions such as the 2001 Parliament Attack case and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination conspiracy trial, where courts examined evidence of agreement and common purpose among conspirators, even those who did not personally commit violent acts, to establish guilt for conspiracy.

• Myth: You can only be punished under this section if the planned attack or violence actually takes place.
  Fact: The Explanation clearly states that no act or omission needs to occur — the agreement (conspiracy) itself is enough to attract punishment.
• Myth: This section only applies to conspiracies planned within India.
  Fact: The text explicitly covers conspiracies formed 'within or without and beyond India,' so plots hatched abroad against the Indian Government are also covered.