(Assam Act 7 of 1953)
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Published in the Assam Gazette, Extraordinary, dated the 18th April, 1953.
An Act to confer powers to control the supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce, in cement in Assam
Preamble, Whereas it is expedient to confer powers to control the supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce in, cement in Assam;
And whereas the sanction of the President as required under Article 304 of the Constitution of India has been obtained :
It is hereby enacted as follows :
- Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Assam Cement Control Act, 1953.
(2) It extends to the whole of Assam.
(3) It shall come into force on the date on which the Assam Cement Control Ordinance, 1953 (Ordinance No. II of 1952) ceases to operate.
- Definition.- In this Act unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,"Cement"includes Portland Cement, any other cementitious product manufactured by inter-grinding or inter-mixing Portland Cement as defined in the Indian Standard Specification Act of 1951, with any active or intermaterial, white and coloured cements, high aluminia cements, and any product manufactured by direct mixing of some or all oxides constituting normal Portland Cement.
- Power to control supply, distribution, etc. of cement.- (1) The State Government, so far as it appears to it to be necessary or expedient for maintaining or increasing the supply of cement or for securing its equitable distribution and availability at fair prices, may, by order in the official Gazette, provide for regulating or prohibiting the supply and distribution thereof and trade and commerce therein within Assam :
Provided, however, that any order issued under this clause shall be subject to such instruction as may be issued by the Central Government under Section 16 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (Act LXV of 1951).
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), an order made thereunder may provide-
(a) for regulating or controlling the prices at which cement may be purchased or sold and for prescribing the conditions of sale thereof;
(b) for regulating by licences, permits, or otherwise the storage, transport, movement, possession, distribution, disposal, acquisition, use or consumption of cement;
(c) for prohibiting the withholding from sale of cement ordinarily kept for sale :
(d) for requiring any person holding stock of cement to sell the whole or specified part of the stock at such prices and to such persons or classes of persons or in such circumstances, as may be specified in the order;
(e) for collecting any information or statistics with a view to regulating or prohibiting any of the aforesaid matters ;
(f) for requiring persons engaged in the supply or distribution of, or trade or commerce in cement, to maintain and produce for inspection of such books, accounts and records relating to their business and to furnish such information relating thereto, as may be specified in the order; and
(g) for any incidental and supplementary matters, including in particular the entering and search of premises, vehicles, vessels and aircraft, the seizure by a person authorised to make such search of cement in respect of which such person has reason to believe that a contravention of the order has been, is being or is about to be committed, the grant or issue of licences, permits, or other documents, and the charging of fees therefor.
(3) When any cement is seized under the authority of any order made under sub-section (1), the person seizing the cement shall make a report of such seizure to a Magistrate who may give such directions as to its temporary custody as he thinks fit:
Provided, however, that where no prosecution is instituted for contravention of the order in respect of the cement seized within a period in his opinion reasonable, the Magistrate shall direct its return to the person from whom it was seized ; and the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall so far as they may be applicable, apply to any search or seizure under any such orders as they apply to any search or seizure under Chapter VII of that Code.
- Delegation of powers.- The State Government may, by order in the official Gazette, direct that the power to make orders under Section 3 shall in relation to such matters and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be exercisable also by such officer or authority subordinate to the State Government as may be specified in the direction.
- Effect of orders inconsistent with other enactments.- Any order made under Section 3 shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Act or any instrument having effect by virtue of any enactment other than this Act.
- Penalties.- If any person contravenes any order made under Section 3, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both ; and if, the order so provides, any Court, trying such contravention, may direct that any property in respect of which the Court is satisfied that the order has been contravened shall be forfeited to the Government. i
- Attempts and abatements.- Any person who attempts to contravene or abets a contravention of any order made under Section 3 shall be deemed to have contravened that order.
- Offences by corporations etc.- If the person contravening an order made under Section 3 is a company or other body corporate or association of persons whether incorporated or not, every Director, Manager, Secretary or other officer or Agent thereof shall, unless the proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent such contravention, be deemed to be guilty of such contravention.
- False statement.- If any person-
(i) when required by any order made under Section 3 to make any statement or furnish any information, makes any statement or furnishes any information which is false in any material particular and which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true, or
(ii) makes any such statement as aforesaid in any book, account, record, declaration, return or other document which he is required by any such order to maintain or furnish ,
he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.
- Cognizance of offences.- No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act except on a report in writing of the facts constituting such offences made by a person who is a public servant as defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).
- Power to try offences summarily.- Any Magistrate or Bench of Magistrates empowered for the time being to try in a summary way the offences specified in sub-section (a) of Section 260 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), may, on application in this behalf being made by the prosecution, try in accordance with the provision contained in Sections 262 to 265 of the said Code any offence punishable under this Act.
- Special provision regarding fines.- Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), it shall be lawful for any Magistrate of the first class special empowered by the State Government in this behalf to pass a sentence of fine exceeding one thousand rupees on any person convicted of contravention an order made under Section 3.
- Savings.- No order made in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act shall be called in question in any Court.
- 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 any order made under Section 3.
(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any damages caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of any order made under Section 3.
- Power to exempt certain varieties of cement.- The State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, exempt any variety of cement from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
- Continuance of action taken under Assam Cement Control Act, 1949.- Any order made or direction issued under Section 3 or 4 of the Assam Cement Control Act, 1949 (Act XI of 1949), or under Section 3 or 4 of the Assam Cement Control Ordinance, 1952, which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been made or issued under the provisions of this Act and continue to be in force so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act until repealed or altered.
- Savings.- On the expiration of this Act, such expiration shall not-
(a) affect any penalty or punishment incurred in respect of any offences committed under this Act before its expiration ; or
(b) affect any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such penalty or punishment at aforesaid ; any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be substituted, continued or enforced and any such penalty or punishment may be imposed as if this Act had not expired.
Application of the Act in Nagaland
The Assam Cement Control Act, 1953 has been adopted by the State of Nagaland. In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (a) of sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 12 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, the Governor of Assam was pleased to direct that the Assam Cement Control Act, 1953 shall apply to the Districts of Kohima and Mokokchung in the State of Nagaland
Accordingly, sub-section (2) of Section 1 was amended as follows :
"(2) It extends to the Districts of Kohima and Mokokchung in the State of Nagaland."
In sub-section (1) of Section 3, the word "Assam" was deleted and substituted by the words "Kohima and Mokokchung Districts."
