Section 191

This provision continues the logic of the old Section 146/147 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. It exists to control mob violence by making every participant in an unlawful assembly responsible once that assembly turns violent, since it is often impossible to identify exactly who struck the first blow. The law also recognizes that armed rioters pose a greater danger to life, and so prescribes stiffer punishment for them.

Under the corresponding IPC provisions, courts consistently held that once a person is shown to be a member of an unlawful assembly and force is used in pursuit of its common object, that member can be convicted of rioting even without proof of personally using violence. Courts have emphasized that 'common object' can be inferred from conduct, weapons carried, and the assembly's behavior, and that mere presence without sharing the common object is not enough for conviction.

• Myth: Only the person who actually used violence in a riot can be punished.
  Fact: The law states that every member of the unlawful assembly can be held guilty of rioting if force or violence is used by anyone in the group for their shared purpose.
• Myth: Simply being present in a crowd that turns violent is enough to convict someone of rioting.
  Fact: Courts require that the person actually shared the assembly's common (unlawful) object, not just happened to be nearby or passing through.
• Myth: Carrying any object automatically triggers the harsher 5-year punishment.
  Fact: The enhanced punishment under subsection (3) applies only if the object is a deadly weapon or something that, if used as a weapon, is likely to cause death.