Definition
Act causing common injury, danger, or annoyance to the public.
An act or omission that causes common injury, danger, or annoyance to the public or to a class of persons — punishable as an offence and actionable if special damage is proved.
Statutory Definition
BNS 2023, Section 281 (formerly IPC Section 268); BNSS 2023, Section 163 (conditional order for removal).
Etymology & Origin
From Old French 'nuisance' (harm — from 'nuire', to harm) qualified by 'public' (from Latin 'publicus', of or belonging to the people — from 'populus', the people). A 'public nuisance' is a harm to the people as a whole — not just one individual — an interference with a right held in common by all members of the community.
Full Legal Analysis
Public nuisance is an act or illegal omission that causes common injury, danger, or annoyance to the public or to a class of persons who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or to persons who may have occasion to use a public right. Section 281 of the BNS, 2023 (formerly Section 268 IPC) makes public nuisance a criminal offence. Unlike private nuisance (which is a civil wrong giving a remedy to an individual with land affected), public nuisance affects the community at large — the right infringed is a right shared by the public generally (the right to use a public road, to breathe clean air, to use a public park).
Key distinction between public and private nuisance: (1) Public nuisance — the interference is with a right common to the public; the criminal remedy is under Section 281 BNS; a civil action for damages requires the plaintiff to show 'special damage' — damage over and above what the general public suffers (e.g., a person who falls into an excavation in a public road suffers special damage beyond the mere inconvenience suffered by all road users); (2) Private nuisance — the interference is with the plaintiff's private right to use and enjoy their land; the civil remedy is an injunction and damages.
The Supreme Court, in the context of a midnight police action dispersing a public assembly at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, examined the scope of state power to remove a public nuisance and the limits on police action. The Court held that the use of force to disperse a peaceful assembly — even on the ground of public nuisance — must be proportionate and must be preceded by fair warning and a reasonable opportunity to disperse. Disproportionate force to remove even an unlawful public nuisance is itself an illegality that the State cannot justify under the public nuisance provisions. The case illustrates the constitutional limits on the invocation of public nuisance powers.
Procedure for removal of public nuisance: under BNSS Section 163, a Magistrate who has information that a public nuisance exists may make a conditional order requiring the person responsible to remove the nuisance (or stop the nuisance-causing activity) within a specified time. If the person fails to comply and does not show sufficient cause, the Magistrate makes the order absolute. If the person disobeys the absolute order, they are prosecuted under Section 188 BNS (disobedience to a public servant's order). The BNSS Section 163 mechanism is a quick administrative remedy — faster than a civil court injunction suit.
For advocates, public nuisance matters arise in: (1) PIL petitions — seeking court orders against public nuisances (industrial pollution, encroachments on public roads, noise pollution); (2) BNSS Section 163 applications — asking a Magistrate to remove a nuisance affecting a locality; (3) special damage claims — suing in civil court for public nuisance damages where the client can show special damage; and (4) defending criminal complaints — where a client's business activity is alleged to constitute a public nuisance.
This Term in Indian Statutes
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, 2023
"A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does any act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right. A public nuisance is not excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage."
Ramlila Maidan: proportionate force required to remove even unlawful public nuisance; BNSS 163 conditional order — administrative remedy; special damage required for civil action by private person; private vs public nuisance distinction
