LAW & ORDER vs.

PUBLIC ORDER

aw & Order and Public order are used interchangeably many of the times.
Indeed, they are quite similar in nature. Both of these are related to crime in
society. Despite this, there is difference between these two terms. Whenever
any crime takes place in the society, indeed it is a violation of law and this
denotes the breakdown of LAW & ORDER. But not necessarily it is a breakdown of
PUBLIC ORDER. Public Order signifies the life style of the society. Though An
individual crime affects the psyche of the society but not necessarily it can affect
the way of functioning of the society. Whenever something happens which affects
the normal routine of the society, it is understood as breakdown of the public order.
For example, the murder of an individual is a Law & Order problem but is not going
to affect the society to such a large extent that people start to do something nonroutine in resPublic Ordernse to the murder.
In the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia vs. State of Bihar and others, 1966 AIR 740, the
honorable Supreme Court has conceptualized that the Law & Order, Public Order
and Security of State can be imagined as three concentric circles. In this, the outer
circle is Law & Order, middle one is Public Order and the innermost is the security of
state.

Security of state

Public
Order

The concentric circle concept states that the ambit of Law & Order is the widest.
Any crime happening is necessarily affecting the Law & Order but it is not necessary
that the crime has the Potentiality of affecting the Public Order and Security of
State. Let me explain this concept through an example. Suppose A has killed B. In
general, it is a problem of Law & Order as law has been violated as a crime has
taken place. But if A &B belong to two different communities in a place where there
is a communal tension between the two communities, then the act of killings may
be perceived by the communities as a transaction between the two communities
SANDEEP GUPTA,
SECTION B

LAW & ORDER vs. PUBLIC ORDER

( Community of A has attacked on the community of B). Hence, there is a Plausibility
that the two communities will clash, in times to come, over this killing. And this will
lead to mass violence and rampage which will affect the normal way of living of
people residing in that area. And it is also possible that this clash between the two
communities may flare up emotions at other places also. So, now the particular
murder has affected public order also. And furthermore, if the killing was a part of a
larger conspiracy of instigating the two communities for a riot type situation across
the country, then the murder has the Potentiality of affecting the security of the
state. In Ashok Kumar vs. Delhi Administration & Ors, 1982 AIR 1143, the Supreme
Court has reasoned that the act itself is not the determinant of its gravity. Rather
the potentiality of the act to disturb the even tempo of thelif of the community
makes it prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
The understanding of difference between Law & Order and Public Order is necessary
for Police and Administration. Because, the Constitution provides disproportionate
powers to these authorities to maintain public order. The article 22 of the
constitution and consequentially the National Security Act, empowers the District
Magistrate to take a person under preventive detention, if the person is suspected
to act prejudicially to public order. Preventive detention is a severe restriction to the
Fundament Right to freedom of movement, of an individual.
Apart from preventive detention, the understanding of Public Order and Law & Order
helps a Police officer to prioritize his/her job. As the resources are limited so the best
use of the resources should be done to prevent any disturbance to Public Order and
security of state.

SANDEEP GUPTA,
SECTION B