Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make such rules as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for securing the defence of British India, the public safety, the maintenance of public order or the efficient prosecution of war, or for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), the rules may provide for, or may empower any authority to make orders providing for, all or any of the following matters, namely:-- (i) ensuring the safety and welfare of His Majesty's forces, ships and aircraft, and preventing the prosecution of any purpose likely to prejudice the operations of His Majesty's forces or the forces of His Majesty's allies; (ii) prohibiting anything likely to prejudice the training, discipline or health of His Majesty's forces; (iii) preventing any attempt to tamper with the loyalty of persons in, or to dissuade (otherwise than with advice given in good faith to the person dissuaded for his benefit or that of any member of his family or any of his dependents) persons from entering, the service of His Majesty; (iv) preventing anything likely to assist the enemy or to prejudice the successful conduct of war, including -- (a) communications with the enemy or agents of the enemy, (b) acquisition, possession without lawful authority or excuse and publication of information likely to assist the enemy, (c) contribution to, participation in, or assistance in, the floating of loans raised by or on behalf of the enemy, and (d) advance of money to, or contracts or commercial dealings with, the enemy, enemy subjects or persons residing, carrying on business, or-being, in enemy territory; (v) preventing the spreading without lawful authority or excuse of false reports or the prosecution of any purpose likely to cause disaffection or alarm, or to prejudice His Majesty's relations with foreign powers, or to promote feelings of enmity and hatred between different classes of His Majesty's subjects; Explanation.-- To point out, without malicious intention and with an honest view to their removal, matters which are producing, or have a tendency to produce, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of His Majesty's subjects does not amount to promoting such feelings within the meaning of this clause. (vi) requiring the publication of news and information; (vii) regulating the conduct of persons in respect of areas the control of which is considered necessary or expedient, and the removal of persons from such areas; (viii) requiring any person or class of persons to comply with a scheme of defence; (ix) ensuring the safety of ports, dockyards, lighthouses, lightships, aerodromes, railways, telegraphs, post offices, signalling apparatus and all other means of communication, sources of water-supply, works for the supply of water, gas or electricity and any other place or thing the protection of which is necessary for the defence of British India; (x) the apprehension and detention in custody of any person reasonably suspected of being of hostile origin or of having acted, acting or being about to act, in a manner prejudicial to the public safety or interest or to the defence of British India, the prohibition of such person from entering or residing or remaining in any area, and the compelling of such person to reside and remain in any area, or to do, or abstain from doing, anything; (xi) the control of persons entering, departing from, or travelling in, British India, and of foreigners residing or being in British India; (xii) prohibiting or regulating traffic, and the use -- of vessels, buoys, lights and signals, in ports and territorial, tidal and inland waters; (xiii) restricting the charter of foreign vessels; (xiv) regulating the structure and equipment of vessels used or likely to be used by the Central Government, for the purpose of ensuring the safety thereof and of persons therein; (xv) regulating work in dockyards and shipyards in respect of the construction and repairs of vessels; (xvi) prohibiting or regulating the sailings of vessels from ports, traffic at aerodromes and the movement of aircraft, and traffic on railways, tramways and roads, and reserving, and requiring to be adapted, for the use of the Central Government, all or any accommodation in vessels, aircraft, railways, tramways or road vehicles for the carriage of persons, animals or goods; (xvii) impressment of vessels, aircraft, vehicles and animals for transport; (xviii) prohibiting or regulating the use of postal, telegraph or telephonic services, including the taking possession of such services and the delaying, seizing, intercepting or interrupting of postal articles or telegraphic or telephonic messages; (xix) regulating the delivery otherwise than by postal or telegraphic service of postal articles and telegrams; (xx) the control of any trade or industry for the purpose of regulating or increasing the supply of, and the obtaining of information with regard to, articles or things of any description whatsoever which can be used in connection with the conduct of war or for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community; (xxi) ensuring the ownership and control of mines by British subjects; (xxii) controlling the use or disposal of, or dealing B in, coin, bullion, securities or foreign exchange; (xxiii) the control of any road or pathway, waterway, ferry or bridge, river, canal or other source of water-supply; (xxiv) the requisitioning of any property, movable or immovable, including the taking possession thereof and the issue of a ay orders in respect thereof; (xxv) prohibiting or regulating the possession, use or disposal of-- (a) explosives, inflammable substances, arms and ammunitions of war, (b) vessels, (c) wireless telegraphic apparatus, (d) aircraft, and (e) photographic and signalling apparatus and any means of recording information; (xxvi) applying the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, and in particular Section 19 thereof, to the prohibition or restriction of the import or export of goods to a particular person or a particular class of persons; (xxvii) prohibiting or regulating the bringing into, or taking out of, British India and the possession, use or transmission of ciphers and other secret means of communicating information; (xxviii) prohibiting or regulating the publication of inventions and designs; (xxix) preventing the disclosure of official secrets; (xxx) prohibiting or regulating meetings, assemblies, fairs and processions; (xxxi) preventing or controlling any use, calculated to prejudice the public safety, the maintenance of public order, the defence of British India or the prosecution of war, of uniforms, flags and insignia and of anything similar thereto; (xxxii) ensuring the accuracy of any report or declaration legally required of any person; (xxxiii) preventing the unauthorised change of names; (xxxiv) preventing anything likely to cause misapprehension in respect of the identity of any official person, official document or official property or in respect of the identity of any person, document or property purporting to be, or resembling, an official person, official document or official property; (xxxv) entry into, and search of, any place reasonably suspected of being used for any purpose prejudicial to the public safety or interest, to the defence of British India or to the efficient prosecution of war, and for the seizure and disposal of anything found there and reasonably suspected of being used for such purpose. (3) The rules made under sub-section (1) may further-- (i) provide for the arrest and trial of persons contravening any of the rules; (ii) provide that any contravention of, or any attempt to contravene, and any abetment of, or attempt to abet, the contravention of any of the provisions of the rules, or any order issued under any such provision, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or with fine or with both; (iii) provide for the seizure, detention and forfeiture of any property in respect of which such contravention,--attempt or abetment as is referred to in the preceding-clause has been committed; (iv) confer power and impose duties- (a) upon the Central Government or officers and authorities of the Central Government as respects any matter, notwithstanding that that matter is one in respect of which the Provincial Legislature also has power to make laws, and (b) upon any Provincial Government or officers and authorities of any Provincial Government as respects any matter notwithstanding that that matter is one in respect of which the Provincial Legislature has no power to make laws; (v) prescribe the duties and powers of public servants and other persons as regards preventing the contravention of, or securing the observance of, the rules; (vi) provide for preventing obstruction and deception of, and disobedience to, any person acting, and interference with any notice issued, in pursuance of the rules; (vii) prohibit attempts by any person to screen from punishment any one, other than the husband or wife of such person, contravening any of the rules; (viii) empower or direct any authority to take such action as may be specified in the rules or as may seem necessary to such authority for the purpose of ensuring the public safety or interest or the defence of British India; (ix) provide for charging fees in respect of the grant or issue of any licence, permit, certificate or other document for the purposes of the rules. (4) The Central Government may by order direct that any power or duty which by rule under sub-section (2) 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-- (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 Provincial Legislature has power to make laws, by any Provincial Government or by any officer or authority subordinate to such Government, or (c) by any other authority. (5) A Provincial Government may by order direct that any power or duty which by rule made under subsection (1) is conferred or imposed on the Provincial Government, or which, being by such rule conferred or imposed on the Central Government, has been directed under subsection (4) to be exercised or discharged by the Provincial 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 an officer or authority subordinate to the Central Government.