Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Gaming in common gaming houses. The Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887 6 of 10 proved], to have been there for the purposed. 36[5A. Where— (i) in any area for which a Commissioner of Police has been appointed, a police officer not below the rank of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, and (ii) elsewhere, a police officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, is of the opinion that any register, record or writing of any kind whatsoever which contains 37[pictures, digits or figures or combination of pictures, digits or figures] relates to Worli Matka gaming or some other form of gaming, he shall be entitled to seize the same, and such register, record or writing shall be presumed to be an instrument of gaming unless it is shown by the person from whom it is seized that it is a register, record or writing of any transaction in connection with a lawful trade, industry, business, profession or vocation or of any lawful personal transaction of any person or it is otherwise not an instrument of gaming. ] 38[6. 39[(1)] It shall be lawful for a Police Officer— 40[(ia) in any area of the State, not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, authorised in each case by special warrant issued by the Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) or whoever is holding that post in any rank or Additional Director General of Police C.I.D. (Crime); and (ib) in any area of police range not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, authorised in each case by special warrant issued by the Special Inspector General of Police or Deputy Inspector General of Police appointed for the respective police range; and] (i) 41[in any area for which a Commissioner of Police has been appointed] not below the rank of a 42** Sub-Inspector and either empowered by general order in writing 43[by the Commissioner of Police or authorised in each case by special warrant issued by any police officer not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police or, as the case mar be, Superintendent of Police], and (ii) elsewhere not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector of Police authorised by special warrant issued in each case 44[by a District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate or by a Taluka Magistrate specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf or by] 45[a District, Additional, Assistant or Deputy Superintendent of Police], 46[and] 47[(iii) without prejudice to the provision in clause (ii) above, in such other area as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf, not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector and empowered by general order in writing issued by the District Magistrate.] (a) to enter, with the assistance of such persons as may be found necessary, by night or by day, and by force, if necessary, any house, room or place which he has reason to suspect is used as a common gaming-house, (b) to search. all parts of the house, room or place which he shall have so entered, when he shall have reason to suspect that any instruments of gaming are concealed therein, and also the persons whom he shall find therein whether such persons are then actually gaming or not, (c) to take into custody and bring before a Magistrate all such persons, Seizure of register, record or writing by certain police officers. Entry, search, etc. by police officers in gaming. The Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887 7 of 10 (d) to seize all things which are reasonably suspected to have been used or intended to be used for the purpose of gaming and which are found therein: Provided that no officer shall be authorised by special warrant 48[unless the authority competent to so authorise under sub-section (1) is satisfied], 49* * * * upon making such inquiry as he may think necessary, that there are good grounds to suspect the said house, room or place to be used as a common gaming-house. ] 50[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no search made under this section shall be deemed to be illegal by reason only of the fact that the witnesses (if any) of the search were not inha- bitants of the locality in which the house, room or place searched is situate.] 51[6A. If any person found in any common gaming-house, entered by any Magistrate or Officer of Police under the provisions of this Act, upon being arrested by any such officer or upon being brought before any Magistrate, and on being required by such Officer or Magistrate to give his name and address refuses or neglects to give the same or gives any false name or address, he shall, on conviction, be punished with a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees and on the non-payment of such fine, or in the first instance if to the Court passing the sentence it shall seem fit, with imprisonment for a period not exceeding four months.] 52[7. When any instrument of gaming has been seized in any house, room or place entered under section 6 or about person of any one found therein, and in the case of any other thing so seized if the court is satisfied that the Police Officer who entered such house, room or place had reasonable grounds for suspecting that the thing so seized was an instrument of gaming, the seizure of such instrument or thing shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that such house, room or place is used as a common gaming-house and the persons found therein were then present for the purpose of gaming, although no gaming was actually seen by the Magistrate or the Police Officer or by any person acting under the authority of either of them ] : 53[Provided that the aforesaid presumption shall be made, notwithstanding any defect in the warrant or order in pursuance of which the house, room or place was entered under section 6, if the Court considers the defect not to be a material one.]