(1) This Act may be called the Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act, 1949.

1[(2) Section 5 extends to the whole of India, and the remaining provisions extend to the States of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan and Delhi.

(3) This Act shall remain in force up to the 2[30th day of November, 1957].]

(1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,

(a) abducted person means a male child under the age of sixteen years or a female of whatever age who is, or immediately before the 1st day of March, 1947, was, a Muslim and who, on or after that day and before the 1st day of January, 1949, has become separated from his or her family and is found to be living with or under the control of any other individual or family, and in the latter case includes a child born to any such female after the said date;

(b) camp means any place established, or deemed to be established, under Section 3 for the reception and detention of abducted persons.

3[* * *]

4[(1) The Central Government may, in any State to which the Act extends, establish as many camps as it may consider necessary for the reception and temporary detention of abducted persons, and any place established in the State before the commencement of the Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Amendment Act, 1952 (77 of 1952), for such reception and detention shall be deemed to be a camp established by the Central Government within the meaning of this section.

(2) The Central Government shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify in the Official Gazette all camps established in every State to which this Act extends.]

(1) If any police officer, not below the rank of an Assistant Sub-Inspector or any other police officer specially authorised by the 5[Central Government] in this behalf, has reason to believe that an abducted person resides or is to be found in any place, he may, after recording the reasons for his belief, without warrant, enter and search the place and take into custody any person found therein who, in his opinion, is an abducted person, and deliver or cause such person to be delivered to the custody of the officer in charge of the nearest camp with the least possible delay.

(2) In exercising any powers 6[conferred on him by this section or by Section 5, any police officer] may take such steps and may require the assistance of such female persons as may, in his opinion, be necessary for the effective exercise of such power.

7[Notwithstanding anything contained in the Delhi Special Police Administration Act, 1946 (25 of 1946), any police officer belonging to the Delhi Special Police Establishment who is specially authorized by the Central Government in this behalf may, if he has reason to believe that an abducted person has been removed from any place in any of the States specified in sub-section (2) of Section 1 and that such person is residing or is to be found in any other place in India, without warrant and after securing the assistance of the officer in charge of the police station within whose jurisdiction the abducted person is believed to be residing or is to be found, enter and search the place and take into custody any such person and deliver or cause to be delivered such person to the custody of the officer in charge of the camp in the State from which the abducted person has been removed:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise any powers conferred thereby in a Part A State or a Part B State without the consent of the Government of that State.]

(1) If any question arises whether a person detained in a camp is or is not an abducted person or whether such person should be restored to his or her relatives or handed over to any other person or conveyed out of India or allowed to leave the camp, it shall be referred to, and decided by, a tribunal constituted for the purpose by the Central Government.

(2) The decision of the tribunal constituted under sub-section (1) shall be final:

Provided that the Central Government may, either of its own motion or on the application of any party interested in the matter, review or revise any such decision.

(1) Any officer in charge of a camp may deliver any abducted person detained in the camp to the custody of such officer or authority as the 8[Central Government] may, by general or special order, specify in this behalf.

(2) Any officer or authority to whom the custody of any abducted person has been delivered under the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be entitled to receive and hold the person in custody and either restore such person to his or her relatives or convey such person out of India.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the detention of any abducted person in a camp in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be lawful and shall not be called in question in any Court.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding whatsoever shall lie against 9[the Government] or any officer or authority for, or in respect of, any act which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act.

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules10 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

11[(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for

(a) the transfer of abducted persons from one camp to another, whether within the State or without the State;

(b) the maintenance of health and good order in camps and of harmonious relations among the abducted persons detained therein;

(c) the composition, powers and functions of, and the procedure to be followed by, the tribunal to be constituted under Section 6;

(d) the manner in which and the time within which any application for the revision of any order of the tribunal may be made under Section 6;

(e) the manner in which any abducted person may be delivered to the custody of any officer or authority under Section 7, or restored to his or her relatives, or conveyed out of India by any such officer or authority.

(3) In making any rule under clause (b) of sub-section (2), the Central Government may provide that a breach thereof shall be tried and punished by the person in charge of the camp in such manner as may be prescribed in the rules:

Provided that no abducted person shall be liable to be tried in a Criminal Court in respect of any offence punishable under any such rule.]

(1) The Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Ordinance, 1949 (18 of 1949), is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken in the exercise of any powers conferred by or under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken in the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act, as if this Act were in force on the day which such thing was done or action was taken.

1. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 2, for the former sub-section (2).

2. Substituted for 30th day of November, 1956 by Act 65 of 1956, Section 2.

3. Sub-section (2) omitted by the A.O. 1950.

4. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 3, for the former section.

5. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 4, for State Government .

6. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 4, for conferred by sub-section (1) any such police officer .

7. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 5, for the former section.

8. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 6, for State Government .

9. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 7, for the Central Government, the State Government .

10. For the Abducted Persons Recovery Rules, 1953, see Gazette of India, 1953, Part II, Section 3, p. 3472.

11. Substituted by Act 77 of 1952, Section 8, for the former sub-section (2).