Updated: Friday January 17, 2014/AlJumaa
Rabi' Awwal 16, 1435/Sukravara
Pausa 27, 1935, at 02:42:56 PM
The Civil Defence Act, 1952
(XXXI OF 1952)
[29th April, 1952]
An Act to provide for powers to secure the civil
defense of Pakistan
Preamble: Whereas
it is necessary to provide for powers to secure the civil defense of
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
[For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Gazette of
Pakistan, Extr., 1952, page 287.
The Act has been applied to,---
(i) Baluchistan, with certain modification, with
effect on and from the thirtieth day of April, 1952, see Gazette of Pakistan,
1952, Part I, page 190 ; extended to the Leased Areas of Baluchistan, by the
Leased Areas (Laws) Order, 1950 (G.G.O. 3 of 1950) ; and applied in the
Federated Areas of Baluchistan, see Gazette of Pakistan, 1953. Part I, page 152
; and
(ii) The Chittagong Hill-tracts and to the partially excluded areas of the
Mymensingh district, with effect from the 18th June, 1953, see Dacca Gazette,
1953, Part I, page 494.
It has also been extended to,---
(i) the Baluchistan States Union, by the Baluchistan
States
(ii)
The Act has been and shall be deemed to have been
brought into force in Gwadur with effect from the 8th September, 1958, by the
Gwadur (Application of Central Laws) Ordinance, 1960 (XXXVII of 1960), Sec. 2.]
1. Short title, extent and commencement: (1) This Act may be called the Civil Defence Act,
1952.
(2) It extends to the whole of
(3) It shall come into force at once.
1-A. Definitions: In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant yin the subject or
context,---
[Section 1-A ins. by the Civil Defence (Arndt.) Act, X
of 1966, Sec, 2]
(1) civil defense' includes any measures not amounting
to actual combat, for affording defense against any form of hostile attack by a
foreign power or for depriving any form of hostile attack by a foreign power of
its effect wholly or in part, whether such measures are taken before, during or
after the time of the attack;
(2) Civil Defence Services' means the services formed
wholly or mainly to meet the needs of civil defense].
2. Power to make rules. (1) The Federal Government may by notification in the
official Gazette make such rules as appear to it to be necessary or expedient
for securing the civil defense of
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers
conferred by sub-section (1) such rules may provide for, or may empower any
authority to make orders providing for, all or any of the following matters,
namely:---
(a) the constitution, enrolment, discipline, powers,
duties, privileges and protection of Civil Defence Services;
(b) preventing or prohibiting anything likely to
assist the enemy or to prejudice the successful conduct of civil defense
including acts, publications or communications prejudicial to civil defense;
(c) requiring any person or class of persons to comply
with any scheme of civil defense;
(d) ensuring the safety of any place or thing used or
intended to be used for the purposes of Government or a local authority, the
protection of which is considered necessary or expedient for securing civil
defense;
(e) The control of lights, sounds and vehicles;
(f) the control of trade or industry for the purposes
of regulating or increasing the supply of, and the obtaining of information
with regard to, articles or things of any description whatsoever which may be
used in connection with the conduct of civil defense;
(g) the provision, storage and maintenance of
commodities and material required for the conduct of civil defense;
(h) the provision, construction, maintenance or
alteration of buildings, premises or other structures required for the conduct
of civil defense;
(i) The measures for preventing and dealing with the
outbreak of fire;
(j) preventing or controlling any use of uniforms, whether
official or otherwise, flags, official decorations like medals, badges and
other insignia and anything similar thereto, where such use is calculated or
likely to deceive the public or to prejudice civil defense;
(k) The salvage of damaged buildings and property and
disposal of the dead;
(l) the evacuation of areas and the removal of
property or animals therefrom;
(m) the accommodation in any area of persons evacuated
from another area and the regulation of the conduct of evacuated persons
accommodated in such area;
(n) The billeting of evacuated persons;
(o) the instruction of members of the public in civil
defense;
(p) the entry into, and search of, any place
reasonably suspected of being used for any purpose prejudicial to civil defense
and for the seizure and disposal of anything found there and reasonably
suspected of being used for such purpose;
(q) The requisition of property and acquisition
thereof.
(3) The rules made under sub-section (1) may further,---
(a) provide for the arrest and trial of persons
contravening any of the rules or any order issued thereunder;
(b) 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
five years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both;
(c) provide for the seizure, detention and forfeiture
of any property in respect of which such contravention, attempt or abetment as
is referred to in clause (b) has been committed;
(d) prescribe the duties and powers of public servants
and other persons as regards preventing the contravention of, or securing the
observance of, the rules or any order issued thereunder;
(e) provide for preventing the obstruction and
deception of, and disobedience to, any person acting, and interfering with any
notice issued, in pursuance of the rules or of any order issued thereunder;
(f) make provision prohibiting attempts to screen from
punishment any person contravening any of the rules or any order issued
thereunder.
3. Ordinary avocations of life to be interfered with
as little as possible: An authority
or a 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 and the defense of
4. 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 an authority in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act,
the Court shall, within the meaning of the Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872)
presume that such order was so made by that authority.
5. 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 order issued under any h rule.
(2) Save as otherwise expressly provided under this
Act, no suitor 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 rules made thereunder or any order
issued under any such rule.
6. Compensation to be paid in accordance with certain
principles for compulsory acquisition of immovable property, etc.: (1) Where under Section 7 by or under any rule made
under this Act any action is taken of the nature described in 1[Article 24] of
the Constitution there shall be paid compensation, the amount of which shall be
determined in the manner, and in accordance with the principles, hereinafter
set out, that is to say:---
[Subs. by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration)
Ordinance XXVII of 1981.]
(a) Where the amount of compensation can be fixed by
agreement, it shall be paid in accordance with such agreement.
(b) Where no such agreement can be reached, the
Federal Government shall appoint as arbitrator a person qualified for
appointment as a Judge of a High Court.
(c) The Federal Government may, in any particular
case, nominate a person having expert knowledge of the kind of property which
has been acquired, to be an assessor to assist the arbitrator, and where such
nomination is made, the person to be compensated may also nominate an assessor
for the said purpose.
(d) At the commencement of the proceedings before the
arbitrator, the Federal Government and the person to be compensated shall state
what in their respective opinions is a fair amount of compensation.
(e) The arbitrator in making his award shall have
regard to,---
(i) the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 23 of
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), so far as the same can be made
applicable; and
(ii) whether the acquisition is of a permanent or
temporary character,---
Provided that where any property requisitioned under
any rule made under this Act, is subsequently acquired under Section 7 or any
such rule, the arbitrator in any proceedings in connection with such
acquisition shall, for the purposes of the provisions of the said Section 23,
take into consideration the market-value of the property at the date of its
requisition as aforesaid and not at the date of its subsequent acquisition.
(f) An appeal shall lie to the High Court against any
award of an arbitrator except in cases where the amount awarded does not exceed
an amount prescribed in this behalf by rule made by the Federal Government.
(g) Save as provided in this section and in any rules
made thereunder, nothing in any law for the time being in force shall apply to
arbitrations under this section.
(2) The Federal Government may make rules for the
purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this section.
(3) In particular and without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing power, such rules may prescribe,---
(a) the procedure to be followed in arbitrations under
this section;
(b) the principles to be followed in apportioning the
costs of proceedings before the arbitrator and on appeal;
(c) the maximum amount of an award against which no
appeal shall lie.
7. Power to acquire requisitioned property: (1) Without prejudice to any power to acquire
property conferred by any rule made under this Act, any immovable property
which has been requisitioned under any rule so made may in the manner provided
by any such rules for the acquisition of property, be acquired in the
circumstances and by the Government hereinafter specified, 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, 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, by that Government;
and at the beginning of the day on which notice of
such acquisition is served or published under the aforesaid rules, the
immovable property shall vest in the acquiring Government free from any
mortgage, pledge, lien or similar encumbrance, and the period of the requisition
thereof shall end.
(2) Any decision or determination of a Government
under subsection (1) shall be final, and shall not be called in question in any
Court.
(3) For the purposes of this section, works"
includes buildings, constructions and improvements of the property, of every
description.
8. Release from requisition: (1) Where any property requisitioned under any rule
made under this Act is to be released from 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
enquiry, if any, as it or he may in any case consider it necessary to make or
cause to be made, specify by order in writing the person to whom possession of
the property shall be given.
(2) The delivery of possession of the property to the
person specified in an 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 whole
possession of the property is given.
9. Delegation of powers under the Acts: The Federal Government may, by notification in the official
Gazette, direct that all or any of the powers or duties which under the
provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder are conferred or imposed upon
the Federal Government shall be exercised or discharged by any officer or
authority subordinate to it or by the Provincial Government ; and the
Provincial Government may, by a like notification, direct that all or any of
the powers or duties as aforesaid, to be exercised or discharged by it, shall
be exercised and discharged by any officer or authority subordinate to it.
10. Repeal of Ordinance, VIII of 1951: (1) The Civil Defence Ordinance, 1951, is hereby
repealed.
(2) Every appointment, order or rule made under the
Civil Defence (Special Powers) Ordinance, 1951 (Ordinance VI of 1951) and
maintained in force under the Civil Defence Ordinance, 1951 or made under the
Civil Defence Ordinance, 1951, shall, if in force immediately before the
commencement of this Act, and so far as it is not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been made under the provisions of
this Act, and have effect accordingly subject to the provisions of this Act.
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