BNSS Section 164: Dispute concerning land or water likely to cause a breach of the peace (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Procedure · BNSS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A dispute over land or water that is likely to cause a breach of the peace is handled by an Executive Magistrate under Section 164 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), in force since 1 July 2024. Section 164 replaced Section 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Magistrate decides who was in actual possession and protects that party, without deciding who owns the property. If you still look up "Section 145 CrPC", this is the provision you now need. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number changed

For decades the land and water dispute procedure sat in Section 145 of the CrPC. Since 1 July 2024 the CrPC is replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), and the same procedure now lives in Section 164. The provision is largely carried over, but the number is new.

This matters in daily practice. A fresh proceeding over a possession dispute is now opened under Section 164 of the BNSS, while older proceedings that began under the CrPC continue under the old number because of the savings rule. For some time you will see both numbers in live files.

02What Section 164 covers

Section 164 is a preventive, not a punitive, provision. It is meant to stop violence breaking out over who holds a piece of land or a water source. An Executive Magistrate can act where, on a police report or other information, the Magistrate is satisfied that a dispute likely to cause a breach of the peace exists over any land or water within the local jurisdiction.

The Magistrate then:

• passes a written order, stating the grounds of satisfaction;
• requires the parties to attend in person or through an advocate and to file written statements of their claims about actual possession of the disputed property; and
• inquires into who was in actual possession on the relevant date, and makes an order protecting that party until lawfully evicted.

03Possession, not ownership

The single most important point is that Section 164 decides possession, not title. The Magistrate asks who was in actual possession of the property, and protects that party against being disturbed by force. The Magistrate does not decide who legally owns the property or who has the better right.

That is why a civil suit on title can still go on in parallel, and a civil courts decree will prevail over the Magistrate order on the question of right. Where the subject of the dispute needs protection while the inquiry runs, the Magistrate can attach the property and appoint a receiver under the next section.

04Old to new: CrPC 145 to BNSS 164

Section 145 of the CrPC is now Section 164 of the BNSS. The core procedure is carried over, with a drafting update that allows parties to appear through an advocate.

Related preventive and public-order provisions are grouped in the same part of the BNSS. For the wider body of law and how courts have applied this procedure, use case search across Indian courts.

05Is it an offence? Classification

Section 164 does not create an offence, so there is no cognizable, bailable or triable label to apply to it. It is a preventive and procedural power exercised by an Executive Magistrate.

The order it produces is about possession and keeping the peace. If a party disobeys the order by force, that conduct may attract separate offences, but those are found elsewhere in the law, not in Section 164 itself.

06What changed from the old law

For this procedure, the substance follows Section 145 of the CrPC, so the large body of case law on actual possession, the relevant date, and the limits of the Magistrate power still guides how Section 164 is read. The main visible change is allowing appearance through an advocate and the new number.

The attachment and receiver power now sits in the next section, Section 165, and the right of user dispute in Section 166. Read the three together for a possession dispute.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A possession dispute under this procedure runs beside a civil suit and often lands in the High Court on challenge. Claw holds High Court decisions from 1990 and Supreme Court decisions from 1950, part of more than 30 crore judgments across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, and a search comes back in under five seconds. So you can see how the courts have read actual possession or the limits of a Section 164 order, searching by provision or by the name of a party or advocate, or follow a live matter.

Claw does not use customer documents to train its AI models, so your papers in a possession fight stay private to you. Set up a free Claw account to search and track these matters, and for the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNSS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• Section 164, BNSS (bare text): advocatekhoj.com
• Section 145, CrPC (old provision): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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