Updated: Monday December 16, 2013/AlEthnien
Safar 13, 1435/Somavara
Agrahayana 25, 1935, at 07:27:52 PM
[1][1]The Provincial Assembly of the
(Pb Act II of 1972)
[
An
Act to provide for privileges of the Provincial Assembly of the
Preamble.— WHEREAS Article 118 of the Interim
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan inter alia provides that the privileges of members of a Provincial
Assembly may be defined by Act of the Provincial Legislature;
AND, WHEREAS it is expedient to define the privileges
of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, its members and committees, and of
the person entitled to speak and otherwise take part in the proceedings of the
Assembly, and to provide for matters incidental and supplemental thereto;
It
is hereby enacted as follows:---
1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Provincial
Assembly of the Punjab Privileges Act, 1972.
(2) It shall come into force on the date
when the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges Ordinance, 1972, ceases
to operate in accordance with the provisions of clause (2) (a) of Article 135
of the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
2. Definitions.— (1) In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context,---
(a) “Assembly”
means the Provincial Assembly of the
(b) “Assembly
Secretariat” means the Secretariat of the Assembly;
(c) “Committee”
means a committee appointed by the Assembly, and includes a Standing Committee
and a Select Committee of the Assembly;
(d) “Constitution”
means the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
(e) “Government”
means the Government of the
(f) “Governor”
means the Governor of the
(g) “Member”
means a member of the Assembly and includes the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and
a Minister;
(h) “precincts of the Assembly” means the Assembly Chamber’s building
courtyard and gardens appurtenant thereto, and includes the hall, members’ lobbies,
galleries, rooms of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers and other officers
of the Government located in the Assembly building, committee rooms and the
officers of the Assembly Secretariat [2][2][and any other premises which are notified as such for a
specified time by the Speaker in the official Gazette;]
(i) “Rules
of procedure” means the rules regulating the procedure of the Assembly for the
time being in force; and
(j) “Speaker”
means the Speaker of the Assembly.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act
or where the context otherwise requires, all expressions used in this Act shall
bear the same meanings as they bear in the constitution.
3. Members not liable to civil or criminal
action.— Subject to the
provisions of Article 118 of the Constitution, no civil or criminal proceedings
shall lie against any member by reason of any matter or thing which he may have
brought up or given notice of his intention to bring up before the Assembly or
any Committee thereof by bill, resolution, motion, question or, otherwise, and
notwithstanding such resolution, motion, bill, question or other thing being
disallowed or not having been admitted by the Speaker.
4. Freedom from detention.— (1) No member shall be detained under any
Provincial law relating to preventive detention or be required to appear in
person in any civil or Revenue Court, or before any Commission [3][3][* * *] during a session of the Assembly and
for a period of fourteen days before and fourteen days after the session of the
Assembly, and no member of a Committee shall be so detained or required to
appear before such Court, [4][4][or Commission] during a sitting of the
Committee and for a period of three days before and three days after the
meeting of the Committee.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be
construed as—
[5][5][(a) applying
to any member detained under any such law as is referred to therein—
(i) at any time during the period commencing on
the fifteenth day next after the conclusion of a session of the Assembly and
ending on the fifteenth day before the commencement of the next session; or
(ii) for reasons of State connected with defence,
external affairs, or the security of
(b) precluding a member from being detained under
any such law during any time that the Assembly is not in session and for a
period of fifteen days before and fifteen days after the session for any act
against such law committed by him during the period that the Assembly is in
session or during the period of fifteen days before and fifteen days after the
session or at any other time.
[6][6][5. * * * * * * * * * * * *]
6. Attendance
of a member detained or arrested on a bailable charge.— If a member is arrested
or detained on any criminal charge and the Court before which any case relating
to such charge is pending against such member, is duly informed by the member
that he has been summoned to attend any session of the Assembly or a meeting of
any Committee thereof, such Court shall, if the charge against such member
relates to a bailable offence, release such member on his personal recognizance
in sufficient time to enable him to attend the session of the Assembly or a
meeting of any Committee thereof, as the case may be:
Provided
that the provisions of this section shall not be construed as exempting any
such member from attending such Court on the day or days which the Court may in
usual course fix for the trial of the case against such member.
7. No process to be served in the
Assembly.— No process, civil
or criminal, shall be served upon a member within the precincts of the Assembly
building except with the leave of the Speaker.
8. No attachment of salaries and
allowances.— Salaries and
allowances paid or payable to the members under any law for the time being in
force shall not be liable to attachment in execution of a decree under the
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
9. Non-liability for removing persons
infringing rules.— No
action, civil or criminal, shall lie against any person for removing or
excluding by order or authority of the Speaker of the Assembly, any person
infringing the Rules of procedure or otherwise behaving in a disorderly manner
within the precincts of the Assembly.
10. Summoning of witnesses.— (1) Subject to the provisions contained in
sub-section (7), the Assembly or any Committee thereof may direct any person to
appear before the Assembly or the Committee, as the case may be, and to produce
or cause to be produced any paper, book, record or document in the possession
or under the control of such person.
(2) Any order
made under sub-section (1) shall be notified to the person required to attend
or to produce any paper, book, record or document, under the hand of the
Secretary, by order of the Speaker or the Chairman of a Committee, as the case
may be, and in every such order there shall be stated the date, the time and
the place where the person summoned is required to attend or produce the paper
or other document.
(3) Such order shall be served by the
delivery thereof to, or leaving at the usual or the last known place of
residence of the person concerned, through the District magistrate within whose
jurisdiction the said residence lies, who shall get it served by any person
authorised by him in this behalf.
(4) Any person so summoned shall be entitled
to receive, from the Secretary, such travelling and daily allowances as may be
admissible under rules framed by Government in this behalf.
(5) The
Assembly or any Committee thereof may require any witness appearing before it
to make an oath, and it shall be lawful thereupon for the Secretary or any
person authorised by the Speaker or the Chairman of the Committee, as the case
may be, to administer oath to such witness.
(6) Subject to the provisions contained in
sub-section (7), if any person summoned to appear refuses or fails, without a
reasonable cause, to appear or to produce or cause to be produced on
requisition any paper, book, record or document, as the case may be, in his
possession or power or under his control, he shall be punished with simple
imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to
one thousand rupees.
(7) When Government is of opinion that in
the interest of security of the State or the maintenance of public order or
generally in the public interest or on account of any other sufficient reason,
any particular record summoned from any office of or authority under
Government, or set up or established by Government, should not be furnished to
the Assembly or any Committee thereof, or a person in the service of the State
should not be summoned or compelled to give evidence, the Government may claim
privilege for that record or exemption for the public servant, as the case may
be:
Provided
that in such case the Assembly or the Committee thereof, as the case may be,
may obtain orders of the Governor whether the privilege or exemption, as the
case may be, is properly claimed, and the orders of the Governor in this behalf
shall be final and conclusive on such point, and shall not be questioned in any
Court.
Explanation— The powers and rights
conferred on Government or the Governor under this section shall in relation to
any record summoned from any office of or authority under the Central[7][7]
Government, or set up or established by that Government, or the summoning of
any person serving in connection with the affairs of the Centre[8][8], be the powers and the rights of the Central[9][9] Government or the President, as the case may be.
11. Penalty for
causing disturbance in the precincts of the Assembly.— Whoever, not being a
member, creates any disturbance within the precincts of the Assembly, whereby
the proceedings of the Assembly, or of a Committee thereof are or are likely to
be interrupted or obstructed, shall be punished with imprisonment which may
extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or
with both.
12. No
prosecution except on complaint under order of the Speaker.— No prosecution shall
lie under the provisions of this Act save on the complaint in writing of the
Secretary, made under the orders of the Speaker and with the concurrence of the
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
13. Withdrawal of
proceeding.— Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898, the Speaker may, in pursuance of a resolution of the
Assembly, request the Court in which any proceedings are pending in respect of
a complaint made under section 12, to drop further proceedings, and on receipt
of such request, the Court shall drop all further proceedings in regard to the
complaint, and the complaint shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
14. Cognizance of offences.—
15. Members to be V.I.Ps.— The members shall be V.I.Ps.
[10][10][15-A. Official plate for vehicle.- (1) A member shall be entitled
to display on his vehicle, for distinctive appellation, an official plate
issued by the Assembly Secretariat along with jacket at Government expense.
(2) The official plate shall be used only on a specific vehicle, the
registration number of which shall be intimated to the Assembly Secretariat.
(3) The official plate shall be exhibited only when the member himself is
present in the vehicle, and in all other cases it shall be covered by the
jacket provided along with the plate.
(4) The Assembly Secretariat shall, on satisfaction that the vehicle has been
stolen or, the original plate has been rendered unserviceable on account of
accident or otherwise and the original plate so damaged has been surrendered to
the Assembly Secretariat, issue a duplicate plate on payment of such charges as
may be specified, from time to time, by the Speaker.
(5) In case of violation of sub-sections (2) and (3) by a member, the Speaker
may restrict the use of official plate by such member and direct him to
surrender the official plate to the Assembly Secretariat.
(6) On ceasing to hold office for any reason whatsoever, the member shall
surrender the official plate to the Assembly Secretariat within three
days."]
16. Accommodation in circuit houses, etc.— A member shall, on previous intimation to
the authority concerned and subject to the availability of accommodation, be
entitled to accommodation in every circuit house, rest house and dak bungalow
maintained by Government or any local body under the control of Government on
payment of such amount as is charged from touring officer, while on duty for
accommodation in such circuit house, rest house or dak bungalow, as the case
may be.
17. Visit to hospitals etc.— (1) A member shall be entitled to visit
hospitals, dispensaries, health centres, social welfare offices, educational
institutions for boys located within his constituency with previous intimation.
(2) After such visit the member may submit
his report to the Minister-in-charge.
18. Inspection of Jails by members.— Every member of the Provincial Assembly of
the
19. Indemnity.—
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person
for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
[1][1]This Act was passed by the
Punjab Assembly on 28th July, 1972; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab
on 28th July, 1972; and, published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated
28th July, 1972.
[2][2]Added by
the Provincial Assembly of the
[3][3]The words “or Election
Tribunal”, deleted by the Privileges of Members of the National and Provincial
Assemblies (Amendment) Act, 1977 (Federal Act XXI of 1977).
[4][4]Substituted ibid., for the words “Commissioner or
Tribunal”.
[5][5]Substituted by the Members of
Provincial Assemblies’ Privileges (Amendment) Act, 1975 (Federal Act XVIII of
1975).
[6][6]Omitted
by the Provincial Assembly of the
[7][7]Now “Federal”, see the Federal Adaptation of Laws
Order, 1975 (P.O. 4 of 1975).
[8][8]Now “Federation”, see ibid.
[9][9]Now “Federal”, see ibid.
[10][10]Added by The Provincial Assembly of the
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