ASSAM GANJA AND
BHANG PROHIBITION ACT, 1958 ASSAM GANJA AND BHANG PROHIBITION ACT, 1958[1] [ Act No. 21 of 1959] [ 29th May, 1959] As Act to
prohibit cultivation, collection, possession, consumption, manufacture, or sale
of Ganja in, and of smuggling thereof into, the State of Assam And To restrict cultivation,
collection, possession, consumption, manufacture, or sale of Bhang with a view
to effect its ultimate prohibition in the State of Assam Whereas it is expedient to
prohibit cultivation, collection, possession, consumption, manufacture and safe
of Ganja in, and of smuggling thereof into, the State of Assam and to restrict
cultivation, collection, possession, consumption, manufacture and sale of Bhang
with a view to effect its ultimate prohibition in the State of Assam. It is hereby enacted in the
Ninth year of the Republic of India as follows: (1)
This Act may be called the Assam Ganja and Bhang Prohibition Act,
1958. (2)
It extends to such area or areas as may be notified in the
official Gazette, by the State Government may, by notification in the official
Gazette appoint: (3)
It shall come into force in the notified area or areas on such
date as the State Government may, by notification n the official Gazette
appoint: Provided that the State
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, restrict the operation
of this Act or of any provision thereof in any notified area. In this Act unless there is
anything repugnant in the subject or context - (1)
"buy", with all its grammatical variations, means
receipt for price paid in cash or kind, and includes any receipt by gift, loan
or otherwise; (2)
"State Prohibition Council" means the body of a
non-official residents of the State as may be constituted by the State
Government by notification in the official Gazette; (2-i) "Prohibition
Officer" means a person appointed under S. 18 (3) of the Act (3)
"Ganja" means dried flowers, flowering or fruiting tops
of the Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa L.); (4)
"Bhang" means leaves of the Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis
Sativa L.) including such form known as Siddhi; (5)
"Import" means to bring into any notified area otherwise
than across a custom frontier defined by the Central Government; (6)
"Manufacture" means every process, whether natural or
artificial by which any ganja is produced or prepared; (7)
"Notified area" means an area notified under sub-S. (2)
of S. 1 of this Act: (8)
"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act; (9)
"Sell", with all its grammatical variations, means any
transfer including transfer by a gift or a loan or otherwise; (10)
"Transports" means to move from one part to another of
any notified area or from any notified area to another notified area; No person shall - (a)
cultivate, collect or sell the Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa
L); or (b)
collect ganja or bhang from the Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa
L); or (c)
import, transport, manufacture, sell and buy ganja or bhang; or (d)
possess or consume ganja or bhang; or (e)
use or keep implement or apparatus for the manufacture or
consumption of ganja or bhang. Whoever contravenes the
provisions of S. 3 shall be punished with imprisonment of either description
for a term which may extend to two years and also with fine which may extend to
one thousand rupees. Whoever, being the owner or
occupier or having the use of any house, room, enclosure, space, vessel,
vehicles or place, knowingly permits it to be used for the commission, by any
other person, of an offence punishable under this Act or the rules made
thereunder, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to six months or with fine, which may extend in five
hundred rupees or with both. Whenever any person, having
been convicted for an offence under C1 (a) or C1 (b) or Cl. (c) of S. 3 is
again convicted of an offence under any of the afore said clauses, the
imprisonment with which he shall be punished shall be rigorous imprisonment for
a term which may extend to four years. (1)
When ever any person is convicted of an offence punishable under
S. 4 or under S. 5, and the Court convicting him is of opinion that it is
necessary to require such person to execute a bond for abstaining from the
commission of such offence, the Court may, at the time of passing sentence on
such person, order him to execute a bond for a sum proportionate to his means,
with or without sureties, for abstaining from the commission of such offence
during such period, not exceeding three years, as it thinks fit to fix. (2)
The bond shall be in the prescribed form and the provision of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898(Act V of 1898), shall in so far as they are
applicable, apply to all matters connected with such bond as if it were a bond
to keep the peace ordered to be executed under S. 106 of that Code. (3)
If the conviction is set aside on appeal or otherwise, the bond
executed shall become void. (4)
Any order under this section may also be made by an Appellate
Court, or by the High Court when exercising its powers of revision. Whoever attempts to commit
an offence punishable under S. 4, or to cause such an offence to be committed,
and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence or
towards the causing of its commission, shall be punished with the punishment
provided for the offence. Whoever abets an offence
punishable under S. 4 or S. 5 shall, whether such offence be or be not
committed in consequence of such abetment, be punished with the punishment
provided for the offence. (1)
A District Magistrate or a Sub-divisional Magistrate or a
Magistrate of the first class, or an officer of the Excise Department not below
the rank of a Superintendent specially empowered by the State Government on
this behalf, may issue a warrant for the arrest of any persons whom he has
reason to believe to have committed an offence punishable under this Actor the
rules made thereunder, or for the search, whether by day or by night, of any
building, vessels or place in which he has reason to believe any ganja, bhang,
material, utensil, implement or apparatus, in respect of which an offence
punishable under the Act has been committed, is kept or concealed. (2)
The officer to whom a search warrant under sub-S. (1) is addressed
shall have all the powers of an officer under S. 11. Section 11 - Power of entry, search and
seizures, etc. (1)
Any officer of the Department of Excise not below the rank of
Assistant Inspector of Excise, any officer of the Department of Police not
below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police, any officer of the Department of
Revenue not below the rank of Sub-Deputy Collector, and any person authorised
in this behalf by the State Government who has reason to believe from personal
knowledge or from information received from any person and taken down in
writing and attested by the informant, that any ganja, bhang material, utensil,
implement or apparatus in respect of which an offence punishable under this Act
or the rules made thereunder has been committed is kept or concealed in any
building, vessel, or enclosed place, may between sunrise and sunset ? (a)
enter into any such building, vessel or place; (b)
in case of resistance, break open any door and remove any other
obstacle to such entry; (c)
seize such ganja, bhang, material, utensil, implement or
apparatus, and any document or other article which may furnish evidence of the
commission of the offence; (d)
detain, search and arrest any person whom be has reason to believe
to have committed an offence against this Act relating to such ganja, bhang,
material, utensil, implement or apparatus; Provided that if such
officer has reason to believe that a search warrant cannot be obtained without
affording opportunity for the concealment of evidence or facility for the
escape of an offender he may, after recording the ground of his belief, enter
and search such building, vessel or enclosed place at any time between sunset
and sunrise. (2) Where an
office taken down any information in writing under sub-S. (1), or records
grounds for his belief under the proviso thereto, he shall forthwith send a
copy thereof to his immediate official superior. Any officer of any of the
Department referred to in S. 11 may within the prohibited area notified under
this Act - (a)
seize, in any public place or in transit, any ganja, bhang, material,
utensil, implement or apparatus in respect of which he has reason to believe an
offence punishable under this Act or the rules made thereunder has been
committed, and along with it any document or other article which may furnish
evidence of the commission of the offence; and (b)
detain, search and arrest any person whom he has reason to believe
to have committed an offence against this Act relating to such ganja, bhang,
material, utensil, implement or apparatus. The provisions of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall, in so far as they are
applicable, apply to the execution of warrants and making of searches, arrests,
and seizure under this Act. Any officer making an
arrest or seizure under this Act shall, within twenty-four hours of such
seizure and arrest, make a full report of all the particulars of such arrest or
seizure to his immediate official superior. Every person arrested under
any of the provisions of this Act shall be produced before the nearest
Magistrate, within twenty-four hours of such arrest, excluding the time
necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the Magistrate. The State Government may
invest any officer of the Excise Department, not below the rank of Inspector
with the powers of an officer in-charge of a Police Station for the
investigation of offences under this Act. The provisions of the Code
of criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1895), shall apply to the trial of
offences against this Act or the rules made thereunder. (1)
The State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette,
constitute for the State and for such period as it may deem fit a State
Prohibition Council consisting of two or more non-official residents of the
state as may be prescribed by the State Government. the State Government may,
by like notification, dissolve or reconstitute any such Council. (2)
The State Prohibition Council may, by notification in the official
Gazette, constitute for any district or part thereof and for such as it may
deem fit, "Prohibition Committees" consisting of two or more
non-official residents of the district. The State Prohibition Council may, by
like notification, dissolve or re-constitute any such Committee. (3)
For the purposes of Ss. 11 and 12 of the Act, the State Government
may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint any member of a
Prohibition Committee by virtue of office or otherwise to be a Prohibition
Officer and thee relation of officers so appointed to the State Prohibition
Council shall be such as may be prescribed. (4)
The duties to be performed by the State Prohibition Council and
the Prohibition Committees and the relation between the council and the
Committees and the relation of such Committees to the Council shall be such as
may be prescribed. Any person acting under the
powers given by S. 11 or 12 who - (a)
without reasonable grounds of suspicion, enters or searches or
causes to be entered or searched any building, vessels or place; or (b)
vexatiously and unnecessarily seizes the property of any person on
the pretence of seizing or searching for any ganja and bhang or seizing any
document or other article liable to seizure under S. 11 or 12; or (c)
vexatiously and unnecessarily detains, searches or arrests any
person or fails to produce, within the time specified in S. 15, the person
arrested or the article seized before the proper authority, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year
or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both. No action shall lie against
any officer for damages in any Civil Court for any act done bona fide or
ordered to be done in pursuance of this Act or the rules thereunder. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act, the State Government may prescribe the conditions under
which permits may be issued for - (a)
cultivation collection or sale of the Indian Hemp plant (Cannabis
Sativa L); (b)
import, transport, manufacture, sale, possession or use of bhang;
and (c)
use or keeping of any implement or apparatus for the manufacture
of Bhang for social, religious, medicinal and scientific purposes. The provisions relating to
ganja and bhang in the Assam Excise Act, 1910 ( (Act I of 1910)), shall stand
repealed in respect of the area or areas in which this Act may be enforced. (1)
The State Government may, subject to the condition of previous
publication make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2)
in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
fore-going power such rules may prescribe ? (a)
the duties to be performed by a Prohibition Committee and its
relation to the State Prohibition Council and other Committees; (b)
any other matter as may, or requires to be prescribed. (3)
In making rules under this section, the State Government may
attach a penalty for the breach of any particular rule.
Preamble - ASSAM GANJA AND BHANG PROHIBITION ACT, 1958PREAMBLE