Defence and Internal Security of India Act, 1971

This Indian law is for special measures to ensure the public safety and interest, the defence of India and civil defence and internal security and for the trial of certain offences.

Defence and Internal Security of India Act, 1971

[Act 42 of 1971]         [4th December, 1971]

An Act to provide for special measures to ensure the public safety and interest, the defence of India and civil defence  [i][and internal security] and for the trial of certain offences and for matters connected therewith

Whereas the President has declared by  [ii][Proclamations] under clause (1) of Article 352 of the Constitution that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India is threatened by external aggression  [iii][and by internal disturbance];

And Whereas it is necessary to provide for special measures to ensure the public safety and interest, the defence of India and civil defence  [iv][and internal security], and for the trial of certain offences and for matters connected therewith;

Be it, therefore, enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows :—

Chapter 1

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent, application, duration and savings.

1. Short title, extent, application, duration and savings.—(1) This Act may be called the Defence  [v][and Internal Security] of India Act, 1971.

(2) It extends to the whole of India and it applies also—

(a) to citizens of India outside India;

(b) to persons in the service of the Government, wherever they may be;

(c) in respect of the regulation and discipline of the naval, military and air forces or any other armed forces of the Union, to members of, and persons attached to, employed with, or following, those forces, wherever they may be;

(d) to, and to persons on, ships and aircraft registered in India, wherever they may be.

(3) It shall come into force at once and  [vi][shall, subject to the provisions of the Defence of India (Amendment) Act, 1975, remain in force during the period of operation of the Proclamation of Emergency issued on the 3rd day of December, 1971] and for a period of six months thereafter, but its expiry under the operation of this sub-section shall not affect—

(a) the previous operation of, or anything duly done or suffered under, this Act or any rule made thereunder or any order made under any such rule, or

(b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under this Act or any rule made thereunder or any order made under any such rule, or

(c) any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence under this Act or any contravention of any rule made under this Act or of any order made under any such rule, or

(d) any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid,

and any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced and any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if this Act had not expired.

2. Definitions.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “civil defence” has the same meaning as in clause (a) of Section 2 of the Civil Defence Act, 1968 (27 of 1968);

(b) “enemy” means—

(i) any person or country committing external aggression against India;

(ii) any person belonging to a country committing such aggression;

(iii) such other country as may be declared by the Central Government to be assisting the country committing such aggression;

(iv) any person belonging to such other country;

(c) “enemy territory” means—

(i) any area which is under the sovereignty of a country referred to in sub-clause (i), or a country referred to in sub-clause (iii), of clause (b) of this section;

(ii) any area which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify to be enemy territory for the purposes of this Act or any rule made thereunder;

(d) “military operations” means the operations of the Armed Forces of the Union;

(e) “occupied territory” means any territory of India which is for the time being in the occupation of a country referred to in sub-clause (i), or a country referred to in sub-clause (iii), of clause (b) of this section;

(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(g) “Proclamation of Emergency” means the Proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 352 of the Constitution on the 3rd day of December, 1971  [vii][or the Proclamation issued under that clause on the 25th day of June, 1975];

(h) “State Government”,—

(i) in relation to the autonomous State of Meghalaya means,—

(a) as respects any matter with respect to which the Legislature of Meghalaya has power to make laws, the Government of Meghalaya; and

(b) as respects any other matter, the Government of Assam;

(ii) in relation to a Union Territory, means the administrator thereof appointed by the President under Article 239 of the Constitution;

(iii) in relation to the North-East Frontier Agency, as defined in the North-East Frontier Areas (Administration) Regulation, 1954 (1 of 1954), means the Governor of Assam acting as the agent of the President.

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