Defence and Internal Security of India Act, 1971- Sections 23 to 40

Chapter 5

REQUISITIONING AND ACQUISITION OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

23. Requisitioning of immovable property.

23. Requisitioning of immovable property.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained to any other law for the time being in force, if in the opinion of the Central Government or the State Government it is necessary or expedient so to do for securing the defence of India, civil defence,  [i][internal security,] public safety, maintenance of public order or efficient conduct of military operations, or for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community, that Government may by order in writing requisition any immovable property and may make such further orders as appeal to that Government to be necessary or expedient in connection with the requisitioning:

Provided that no property or part thereof which is exclusively used by the public for religious worship shall be requisitioned.

(2) The requisition shall be effected by an order in writing addressed to the person deemed by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, to be the owner or person in possession of the property, and such order shall be served in the prescribed manner on the person to whom it is addressed.

(3) Whenever any property is requisitioned under sub-section (1), the period of such requisition shall not extend beyond the period for which such property is required for any of the purposes mentioned in that sub-section.

24. Payment of compensation.

24. Payment of compensation.—Whenever in pursuance of Section 23, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, requisitions any immovable property, there shall be paid to the persons interested compensation the amount of which shall be determined by taking into consideration the following, namely:—

(i) the rent payable in respect of the property or if no rent is payable, the rent payable in respect of similar property in the locality;

(ii) if in consequence of the requisition of the property the person interested is compelled to change his residence or place of business, the reasonable expenses (if any) incidental to such change;

(iii) such sum or sums, if any, as may be found necessary to compensate the person interested for damage caused to the property on entry after requisition or during the period of requisition, other than normal wear and tear:

Provided that where any person interested being aggrieved by the amount of compensation so determined makes an application within the prescribed time to the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, for referring the matter to an arbitrator, the amount of compensation to be paid shall be such as the arbitrator appointed in this behalf by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may determine:

Provided further that where there is any dispute as to the title to receive the compensation or as to the apportionment of the amount of compensation, it shall be referred to an arbitrator appointed in this behalf by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, for determination, and shall be determined in accordance with the decision of such arbitrator.

Explanation.—In this section and in Section 31, the expression “person interested” in relation to any property includes all persons claiming or entitled to claim an interest in the compensation payable on account of the requisitioning or acquisition of that property under this Act.

25. Power to obtain information and give direction.

25. Power to obtain information and give direction.—The Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may, with a view to requisitioning any property under Section 23 or determining the compensation payable under Section 24, by order—

(a) require any person to furnish to the authority mentioned therein such information in his possession relating to any property as may be specified;

(b) direct that the owner, occupier or the person in possession of the property shall not, without the permission of Government, dispose of it or where it is a building, structurally alter it till the expiry of such period as may be specified in the order.

26. Power of entry into, and inspection of, property etc.

26. Power of entry into, and inspection of, property etc.—Any person authorised in this behalf by the Central Government or the Sate Government, as the case may be, may enter into any immovable property and inspect such property for the purpose of determining whether, and if so in what manner, an order under Section 23 should be made in relation to such property or with a view to securing compliance with any order made under that section.

27. Eviction from requisitioned property.

27. Eviction from requisitioned property.—(1) Any person remaining in possession of any requisitioned property in contravention of any order made under Section 23 may be summarily evicted from the property by any officer empowered in this behalf by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be.

(2) Any officer so empowered may, after giving to any woman not appearing in public reasonable warning and facility to withdraw, remove or open any lock or bolt or break open any door of any building or do any other act necessary for effecting such eviction.

28. Penalty for contravention of any order regarding requisitioning.

28. Penalty for contravention of any order regarding requisitioning.—If any person contravenes any order made under Section 23 or Section 25, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

29. Release from requisition.

29. Release from requisition.—(1) Where any property requisitioned under Section 23 is to be released form such requisition, the Government by which or under whose authority the property was requisitioned or any person generally or specially authorised by it in this behalf may, after such inquiry, if any, as it or he may in any case, consider necessary to make or cause to be made, specify by order in writing the person to whom possession of the property shall be given and such possession shall, as far as practicable, be given to the person who appears to the Government or, as the case may be, the person authorised as aforesaid, to be entitled to the possession of the property at the time such order is made.

(2) The delivery of possession of the property to the person specified in the order under sub-section (1) shall be a full discharge of the Government from all liabilities in respect of the property, but shall not prejudice any rights in respect of the property which any other person may be entitled by due process of law to enforce against the person to whom possession of the property is delivered.

30. Acquisition of requisitioned property.

30. Acquisition of requisitioned property.—(1) Any immovable property which has been requisitioned under Section 23 may in the manner hereinafter provided, be acquired in the circumstances and by the Government specified below, namely :—

(a) where any works have, during the period of requisition, been constructed on, in or over the property wholly or partly at the expense of any Government, the property may be acquired by that Government if it decides that the value of or the right to use, such works shall, by means of the acquisition of the property, be preserved or secured for the purposes of any Government, or

(b) where the cost to any Government of restoring the property to its condition at the time of its requisition as aforesaid would, in the determination of that Government, be excessive having regard to the value of the property at that time, the property may be acquired by that Government.

(2) When any Government as aforesaid decides to acquire any immovable property, it shall serve on the owner thereof or where the owner is not readily traceable or the ownership is in dispute, by publishing in the Official Gazette, a notice stating that the Government has decided to acquire it in pursuance of this section.

(3) Where a notice of acquisition is served on the owner of the property or is published in the Official Gazette under sub-section (2), then, at the beginning of the day on which the notice is so served or published, the property shall vest in the Government free from any mortgage, pledge, lien or other similar encumbrances and the period of requisition thereof shall come to an end.

(4) Any decision or determination of a Government under sub-section (1) shall be final, and shall not be called in question in any court.

(5) For the purposes of this section, “works” includes every description of buildings, structures and improvements of the property.

31. Compensation for acquisition of requisitioned property.

31. Compensation for acquisition of requisitioned property.—(1) The compensation payable for the acquisition of any property under Section 30 shall be the price which the requisitioned property would have fetched in the open market if it had remained in the same condition as it was at the time of requisitioning and been sold on the date of acquisition.

(2) Where any person interested in aggrieved by the amount of compensation determined in accordance with sub-section (1), he may make an application within the prescribed time to the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be for referring the matter to an arbitrator appointed in this behalf by the Central Government or the State Government, and the amount of compensation to be paid shall be such as may be determined by the arbitrator in accordance with sub-section (1).

(3) The provisions of Section 25 and Section 26 shall apply in relation to the acquisition of any property or the determination of compensation for such acquisition as they apply in relation to the requisitioning of any property or the determination of compensation for such requisitioning.

(4) Where there is any dispute as to the title to receive the title to receive the compensation or as to the apportionment of the amount of compensation, it shall be referred to an arbitrator appointed in this behalf by the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, for determination, and his decision thereon shall be final.

32. Power to make rules.

32. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Chapter.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such rules may prescribe—

(a) the procedure to be followed in arbitration proceedings under this Chapter;

(b) the period within which the owner of any property or any other person interested in the amount of compensation may apply to the Government concerned for referring the matter to an arbitrator;

(c) the principles to be followed in apportioning the costs of proceedings before the arbitrator;

(d) the method of payment of compensation;

(e) the manner of service of notices and orders;

(f) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.

33. Certain properties requisitioned under previous law to be deemed to be requisitioned under this Chapter.

33. Certain properties requisitioned under previous law to be deemed to be requisitioned under this Chapter.—Any property referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 25 of the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952 (30 of 1952), which continued to be subject to requisition under the said Act and has not, immediately before the commencement of this Act, been released from requisitioning shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be the property requisitioned under sub-section (1) of Section 23 if such property is, in the opinion of the Central Government, now required for any of the purposes specified in that sub-section:

Provided that—

(a) all determinations, agreements or awards for the payment of compensation in respect of any such property for any period of requisition before the commencement of this Act and in force immediately before such commencement, shall continue to be in force and shall apply to the payment of compensation in respect of that property for any period after such commencement;

(b) anything done or deemed to have been done or any action taken or deemed to have been taken (including any orders, notifications or rules made or issued or deemed to have been made or issued) under the Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952 (Act 30 of 1952), shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter or any rules or orders made thereunder, be deemed to have been done or taken under this Chapter.

Chapter 6

SUPPLEMENTAL

34. Power to delegate.

34. Power to delegate.—(1) The Central Government may, by order, direct that any power or duty which by this Act or by any rule made under this Act is conferred or imposed upon the Central Government shall, in such circumstances and under such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be exercised or discharged also—

(a) by any officer or authority subordinate to the Central Government, or

(b) whether or not the power or duty relates to a matter with respect to which a State Legislature has power to make laws, by any State Government or by any officer or authority subordinate to such Government, or

(c) by any other authority.

(2) The State Government may, by order, direct that any power or duty which by this Act or by any rule made under this Act is conferred or imposed on the State Government or which, being by this Act or any such rule conferred or imposed on the Central Government has been directed under sub-section (1) to be exercised or discharged by the State Government, shall, in such circumstances and under such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be exercised or discharged by any officer or authority not being (except in the case of a Union Territory) an officer or authority subordinate to the Central Government.

(3) The Government of Assam may, by order, direct that any power or duty which by this Act or by any rule made under this Act is conferred or imposed on it shall, in relation to the autonomous State of Meghalaya, be exercised or discharged in such circumstances and under such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction by the Government of Meghalaya or by any officer or authority subordinate to that Government.

35. Rules to be laid before Houses of Parliament.

35. Rules to be laid before Houses of Parliament.—Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

36. Jurisdiction of ordinary courts.

36. Jurisdiction of ordinary courts.—(1) Except as may be provided in this Act or in any rule made thereunder or in any order made under any such rule by the Central Government or the State Government or by any officer not below the rank of Collector empowered under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of Section 34 to make such order, the ordinary criminal and civil courts shall continue to exercise jurisdiction.

(2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that any provision in any such rule or order as aforesaid to the effect that the decision of any authority not being a court shall be final or conclusive shall be a sufficient excepting provision within the meaning of sub-section (1).

37. Effect of Act and rules, etc., inconsistent with other enactments.

37. Effect of Act and rules, etc., inconsistent with other enactments.—The provisions of this Act or any rule made thereunder or any order made under any such rule shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Act or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any enactment other than this Act.

38. Ordinary avocations of life to be interferred with as little as possible.

38. Ordinary avocations of life to be interferred with as little as possible.—Any authority or person acting in pursuance of this Act shall interfere with the ordinary avocations of life and the enjoyment of property as little as may be consonant with the purpose of ensuring the public safety and interest  [ii][, the defence of India and civil defence and the internal security].

39. Savings as to orders.

39. Savings as to orders.—(1) No order made in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act shall be called in question in any court.

(2) Where an order purports to have been made and signed by any authority in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act a court shall, within the meaning of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), presume that such order was so made by that authority.

40. Protection of action taken under the Act.

40. Protection of action taken under the Act.—(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules made thereunder or any orders issued under any such rule.

(2) Save as otherwise expressly provided under this Act, no suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or likely to be caused by anything in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule made thereunder or any order issued under any such rule.

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