September 2024

Magistrate may direct search in his presence Any Magistrate may direct a search to be made in his presence of any place for the search of which he is competent to issue a search warrant.

Power of police officer to seize certain property 1) Any police officer may seize any property which may be alleged or suspected to have been stolen, or which may be found under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of any offence. (2) Such police officer, if subordinate to the officer in charge of a police station, shall forthwith report the seizure to that officer. (3) Every police officer acting under sub-section (1) shall forthwith report the seizure to the Magistrate having jurisdiction and where the property seized is such that it cannot be conveniently transported to the Court [or where there is difficulty in securing proper accommodation for the custody of such property, or where the continued retention of the property in police custody may not be considered necessary for the purpose of investigation], he may give custody thereof to any person on his executing a bond undertaking to produce the property before the Court as and when required and to give effect to the further orders of the Court as to the disposal of the same : [Provided that where the property seized under sub-section (1) is subject to speedy and natural decay and if the person entitled to the possession of such property is unknown or absent and the value of such property is less than five hundred rupees, it may forthwith be sold by auction under the orders of the Superintendent of Police and the provisions of sections 457 and 458 shall, as nearly as may be practicable, apply to the net proceeds of such sale.]

Persons in charge of closed place to allow search (1) Whenever any place liable to search or inspection under this Chapter is closed, any person residing in, or being in charge of, such place, shall, on demand of the officer or other person executing the warrant, and on production of the warrant, allow him free ingress thereto, and afford all reasonable facilities for a search therein. (2) If ingress into such place cannot be so obtained, the officer or other person executing the warrant may proceed in the manner provided by sub-section (2) of section 47. (3) Where any person in or about such place is reasonably suspected of concealing about his person any article for which search should be made, such person may be searched and if such person is a woman, the search shall be made by another woman with strict regard to decency. (4) Before making a search under this Chapter, the officer or other person about to make it shall call upon two or more independent and respectable inhabitants of the locality in which the place to be searched is situate or of any other locality if no such inhabitant of the said locality is available or is willing to be a witness to the search, to attend and witness the search and may issue an order in writing to them or any of them so to do. (5) The search shall be made in their presence, and a list of all things seized in the course of such search and of the places in which they are respectively found shall be prepared by such officer or other person and signed by such witnesses ; but no person witnessing a search under this section shall be required to attend the Court as a witness of the search unless specially summoned by it. (6) The occupant of the place searched, or some person in his behalf, shall, in every instance, be permitted to attend during the search and a copy of the list prepared under this section, signed by the said witnesses, shall be delivered to such occupant or person. (7) When any person is searched under sub-section (3), a list of all things taken possession of shall be prepared, and a copy thereof shall be delivered to such person. (8) Any person who, without reasonable cause, refuses or neglects to attend and witness a search under this section, when called upon to do so by an order in writing delivered or tendered to him, shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 187 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Direction, etc., of search warrants The provisions of sections 38, 70, 72, 74, 77, 78 and 79 shall, so far as may be, apply to all search-warrants issued under section 93, section 94, section 95 or section 97.

Power to compel restoration of abducted females Upon complaint made on oath of the abduction or unlawful detention of a woman, or a female child under the age of eighteen years, for any unlawful purpose, a District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or Magis-trate of the first class may make an order for the immediate restoration of such woman to her liberty, or of such female child to her husband, parent, guardian or other person having the lawful charge of such child, and may compel compliance with such order, using such force as may be necessary.

Search for persons wrongfully confined If any District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or Magistrate of the first class has reason to believe that any person is confined under such circumstances that the confinement amounts to an offence, he may issue a search-warrant, and the person to whom such warrant is directed may search for the person so confined ; and such search shall be made in accordance therewith, and the person, if found, shall be immediately taken before a Magistrate, who shall make such order as in the circumstances of the case seems proper.  

Application to High Court to set aside declaration of forfeiture (1) Any person having any interest in any newspaper, book or other document, in respect of which a declaration of forfeiture has been made under section 95, may, within two months from the date of publication in the Official Gazette of such declaration, apply to the High Court to set aside such declaration on the ground that the issue of the newspaper, or the book or other document, in respect of which the declaration was made, did not contain any such matter as is referred to in sub-section (1) of section 95. (2) Every such application shall, where the High Court consists of three or more Judges, be heard and determined by a Special Bench of the High Court composed of three Judges and where the High Court consists of less than three Judges, such Special Bench shall be composed of all the Judges of that High Court. (3) On the hearing of any such application with reference to any newspaper, any copy of such newspaper may be given in evidence in aid of the proof of the nature or tendency of the words, signs or visible representations contained in such newspaper, in respect of which the declaration of forfeiture was made. (4) The High Court shall, if it is not satisfied that the issue of the newspaper, or the book or other document, in respect of which the application has been made, contained any such matter as is referred to in sub-section (1) of section 95, set aside the declaration of forfeiture. (5) Where there is a difference of opinion among the Judges forming the Special Bench, the decision shall be in accordance with the opinion of the majority of those Judges.

Power to declare certain publications forfeited and to issue search warrants for the same (1) Where— (a)   any newspaper, or book, or (b)   any document, wherever printed, appears to the State Government to contain any matter the publication of which is punishable under section 124A or section 153A or section 153B or section 292 or section 293 or section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), the State Government may, by notification, stating the grounds of its opinion, declare every copy of the issue of the newspaper containing such matter, and every copy of such book or other document to be forfeited to Government, and thereupon any police officer may seize the same wherever found in India and any Magistrate may by warrant authorise any police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector to enter upon and search for the same in any premises where any copy of such issue or any such book or other document may be or may be reasonably suspected to be. (2) In this section and in section 96,— (a)   “newspaper” and “book” have the same meaning as in the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867) ; (b)   “document” includes any painting, drawing or photograph, or other visible representation. (3) No order passed or action taken under this section shall be called in question in any Court otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of section 96. COMMENTS Supreme Court on old section 99A – It will be of interest to note here that the Supreme Court has in State of U.P. v. Lalai Singh Yadav AIR 1977 SC 202 interpreting the old section 99A, held that a formal authoritative setting forth in an order or notification of grounds and reasons for the forfeiture of a book or any publication is statutorily mandatory under the Code. This conclusion establishes a constitutional rapport between the penal section 99A of the Code and the Fundamental Right of Expression under article 19 of the Constitution. The Court has observed : “The Government has the power and responsibility to preserve societal peace and to forfeit publications which endanger it. But what is thereby prevented is the freedom of expression, that promoter of the permanent interests of human progress. Therefore, the law [section 99A] fixes the mind of the administration to the obligation to reflect on the need to restrict and to state the grounds which ignite its action. To fail here, is to fault the order (of forfeiture).” Referring to the omission of the U.P. Government to give the grounds for the forfeiture of a book, the judgment said : “If you laze and omit, the law visits the order with voidness and this the State Government must realise specially because forfeiture of a book for a penal offence, is a serious matter, not a routine act to be executed with unconcern or indifference. The wages of neglect is invalidity, going by the text of the Code. These considerations are magnified in importance when we regard the changeover from the Raj to the Republic and the higher value assigned to the great rights of the people. Section 99A of the Code enables the aggrieved party to apply to the High Court to set aside the prohibitory order and the Court examines the grounds of Government order and affirms or upsets it. The Court cannot make a roving enquiry beyond the grounds set forth in the order and if grounds are altogether left out what is the Court to examine ? And by this omission, careless or calculated, the valuable right of the appeal to the Court is defeated. A construction of the section, fraught with such pernicious consequences and tampering with the basic structure of the statutory remedy must be frowned upon by the Court, if the liberty to publish is to be restricted only to the limited extent the law allows.”

Search of place suspected to contain stolen property, forged documents, etc (1) If a District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or Magistrate of the first class, upon information and after such inquiry as he thinks necessary, has reason to believe that any place is used for the deposit or sale of stolen property, or for the deposit, sale or production of any objectionable article to which this section applies, or that any such objectionable article is deposited in any place, he may by warrant authorise any police officer above the rank of a constable— (a)   to enter, with such assistance as may be required, such place, (b)   to search the same in the manner specified in the warrant, (c)   to take possession of any property or article therein found which he reasonably suspects to be stolen property or objectionable article to which this section applies, (d)   to convey such property or article before a Magistrate, or to guard the same on the spot until the offender is taken before a Magistrate, or otherwise to dispose of it in some place of safety, (e)   to take into custody and carry before a Magistrate every person found in such place who appears to have been privy to the deposit, sale or production of any such property or article knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect it to be stolen property or, as the case may be, objectionable article to which this section applies. (2) The objectionable articles to which this section applies are— (a)   counterfeit coin ; (b)   pieces of metal made in contravention of the Metal Tokens Act, 1889 (1 of 1889), or brought into India in contravention of any notification for the time being in force under section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) ; (c)   counterfeit currency note ; counterfeit stamps ; (d)   forged documents ; (e)   false seals ; (f)   obscene objects referred to in section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) ; (g)   instruments or materials used for the production of any of the articles mentioned in clauses (a) to (f).