/ ' J J IE J~hi\1\J.,/\ .\IAl{INE l•,JS11ING ltEGlJLL\ .. flOf~ ,~U'f, l!JHf) (Act 10 of I q8J)
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CHAPTER L
Preliminary .1 S1ctionj:
l. Short t itl~, t\xtcnt and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Authorisation of officcr5 for the ptJrposes of any provj~inn of this Act,
CHAPTER II
Regulation of Fishing
4. Power to r~gulate, rc~trict or prohibit certain matters within speci· fied area.
5. Prohibition of use of fi~hing vesel in contravention of any ot·d(r made under section 4.
G. Licensing of fishing ve~sels.
7 Prohibition of fishing us•ng fishing vessels which are not licen' cd
8. Cancellation, suspension and amendment of licenses.
9. Registration of vessels.
10. Information to be given to authorh:ed officer about n1ovrmcn~ of fic;h ing 'rssch.
J I . Rrturns to he n1acJe hy owne' ~ nf rr~lstert d flsh>ng vecse)q
12 Fin-1l1t\' of orders undet scct1ons 6, 8, anrl 9. J ~ i\ppeal~ aga 1n~t orders refusing grant of licence, etc. CHAPTER Il I
Penalties
14. Powt r to enter an\ c;carch fi"htng ve<\SC'l
15. Di~po~al or ~ei7<'d fl<:h. I G. i\djudication.
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17. Penalty.
18. Constitution of Appellate Boa' d and c\ppeal to i\ppr11ate Board. 1 ~"). Rev1sion by Apoellatc Board.
LU. Potvcri of adjudicating officer and :\pprllatc Boarc.ltn relation to hold1ng enquiry und' r th1s i\ct.
t.! 1 Offences by cotnpanies '
CHAPTER IV
Miscellaneous
22 I> Exemptions ~3. Protectton of action taken •n good fatth.
24. Power to make rules.
25. Repeal and saving.
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THE KERALA MARINE FISI-IING REGULATION ACT, 1980 *
(Act 10 of 1981)
lin Aet to provide for the regulatzon of ftshingOy jis·hing vessels in the sea along the coast line of the Stale.
Preamble. -WHEREAS it is necessary to provide for the regulation of fi,hing by fishing vessels in the sea along the coast line of the State; BE it enacted in the Thirty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement.-(1) This ..t\ct may be called the Kerala Marine }t'ishing Regulation Act, 1980.
(2) It extends to the \vho le of the State of Kerala. ,
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 24th day of N ovembcr, 1980 .
2. Difinitions.-In this Act, unless the context otherwtse requires,- ( a) c'adjudtcatlng officer'' means any officer of the FisheriesDepar- tment, not below the rank of an Assisrant Director of Fisheries, authorised hy the Government, by notification in the Gazette, to exercise the powers conferred on, and discharge the duties imposed upon, the adjudicatjng officer by this Act for such area as may be spectfied in the notification;
(b) ''Appellate Board" means an Appellate Board constituted under section 18;
(c) "authorised officer" means such officer as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, authorise in respect of the matter to which reference is m1dc in the provi~ion of this Act in which the exp• ession o~un; •
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(d) ''fishing vessel" meaTls a ship or boat, wh,~ther or not fitted with mechanical means of propulsion, whtch is engaged 1n sea .. fishutg for profit and "ncludcs-
(t) a catamaran,
(ii) a country craft, ann
(iii) a canoe, :n gaged 1n sea fishing ;
0 Received the assent of the President on the 17th day of January, 1981 and published in the Kera1a Gazette Extraordinary No. 54 dated the 20th january, 1981.
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(e) uport'' tneans the space vvithin sucf} limits as tnay from time to tiine be defined by the Governtnent, by notification in the Galette, for the purposes of this Act ;
(f) "prescribed, mectns prescribed by rule~ made under this Act;
(g) "registered fishing vessel" means- 0 ( i) a fishing vessel registered undc1· section II of the Marine Products Export Development .t\uthortty Act, 1972 (Central Act 13 of 1972) ; or • Q
(ii) a fishing vessel rcgtstered under section 9 ;
(h) "specified area" means ~uch .tr~a 1n the sea along the entire coast line of the State, but not beyond territot1al wat,"rs, d.s may be specified by tlae Government, by notification in the Gazette ;
(i) ''State, mea.ns the St
3. Authorisation of officers {o1 the purposes of any provision of this Act.- The Government may, by notification in the Gazette> authorise-
(a) any officer of the Government, not being an officer below the rank of a Gazetted officer; or
(b) any offic~r of the Central Government, not being an officer below the rank of a Gazetted officer or a commissioned officer in the anned A. force> of the Union, with the consent of that Governnent, 'f;J to eXf!rcise the powers conferred on, and dtscharge the duties imposed upon, an authorised officer under this Act in such area a<; n1ay be specified in the ~ not ificat1on.
CHAPTER II
Regulation of fishiug
4. Power to regulate, restrict or prohibzt certazn matters within specljied area.-(1) The Government may, having regard to the matters referred to in sub· section (2), by order notified in l he Gazette, regu1ate, restrict or prohibit-
( a) the fishing in any specifled area by such class or classes of fishing vessels as may be prescribed , or
(b) the number of fishing vessels #htch ~rna y be used for fishing in any specified area ; or
(c) the catching m any spec•fied Mea of such species of fish and for Q such period as may be specified in the notification , or
(d) the use of such fishing gear 1n any spectfied area as may be prescribed. ,
(2) In making an order under sub-section (1 ), the Government shall haveregard to the following matters, namely :-
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(a) the need to protect the 111teres• ~ ol different sections of pe1 ~ •tt-, en~agcd in fishing, particularly those engagrd tn fic;hing 11sing trac\ition1l fish1ng craft such as catamaran, country craft or canoe ; (b)' the need to conserve fi~h and to regulate fishing on a st:ieulific basis ;
(c) the need to tnaintain lavv and order in the sea ;
(d) any other 1nattcr that 1nay be prescribed.
5. Prohibition of use of fishing vesselzn conlraverztzon of any order 1nade ruzder section 4.-No owner or master of a fi~hing v~sscl sha~l use, or cause or al1o\V to be used, such fishin~ vessel for fislung in any n1anner \Vhich contraveu~s an order made under section 4 :
Provided that nothing in such order shall be construed as p rcvcnting the passage of any fish in~ V
Provided further that the passing of such n~hing vessel through ctny spccifie1 area shall not in any nlJ.OilGr CJ.U)e ~ony dJ.1na.~e to any fishing net~ or tackles belonjin~ to any person vvh J en~agcs in fishing in the specified area by us1ng any traditional fishtng craft such as catatnaran, country craft, or canoe.
6. Lzcenszng of fzshutg vessels.-( I) The owner of a fishu1g v~sscl nl,LY make nn application to the a.utl·ortscd offic~r for the g• ant 0f a licent:e f(,r using such fishing vc~sc l for fishing in any specific, t
(a) l~vc1y apphcc~tton under &ub~ection (I)4,hall be in. such inJ"ut, contain ::.uch particulars, and be ,tccomp,ulted by such fees, as Jnay bt:
prescr1 he ci.
(3) ,.fht.: c1.uthoJ i4)cd office1 1nay, a. I tcr 1nJ.king such enquit y a~ he dcc1ns fit and having regc:1rd to the tnatlcr~ tcferrcd to in ~ubsectiou (·l), either grant or refuse to grant, to the ovvner of the fishing vessel, a licence for using such fish1n ~ vessel for fishn1g in the spectfied area or specified arc,L~ mentioned in such liccn<:c.
(4) In granting or refusing hccncc under :subsection (3), the authorised officer ~halt have regard to the followtng, namely :-
(a) \vhcthcr the fishing vessel 1s a registered fishing vessel ;
(b) the cond1Uon of the fishtng vessel Including the accessrH ics a11d fish1ng gct1.r with wh1ch i r is fitted ;
(c) any order that m,\y be made UJldcr section 4;
(d) any other matter that may be prescribed.
(5) A hccncc granted under th1<; section shall be 1n such 1orm and subject to such conditions, inclu{1Ing conditions as to payment of such fees and furnishing such security tor the due performance of the conditions, as may uc prescr1 be ·1 :
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• 54 Provided that different fees, and different z..mounts by way of security, may be prescribed in respect of licences for diffrrent c1asses of fishing vessels.
(6) A licence granted under this section shall be valid for the period (!) specified therein or for such extended period as the authorised officer may think fit to allow in any case .
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7. Prohibztton of fishing usuzg jislnng utssels which are not licensed.-No t;\. person shall, after the commencement of this Act, carry on fishing in any XJ specified area using a fishing vessel which is not licensed under section 6 :
Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any fishing vessel, which was being used for fishing immediately before the commencement of th1s Act, for such period as may be specified by the Government by notification in the Gazette.
8. Cancellation suspension and amendment of licences.-( 1) If the authorised officer is satisfied, either on a teference made to him in this behalf or other- wtsc, that-
(a) a licence gtanted under section 6 has been obtained by mis- representation as to an essential fact , or
(b) the holder of a licence has, Without reasonable can se, failed 1 o comply with the conditions ~ubject to \Vhich the licence has been granted 0 o.r has contravened any of the p1 ovi~ions of thts Act or any order or rule mdde thereunder,
then, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the licenre may be liable under this Act, the authorised officer 1na y, after givtng the holder of th~ 1 icencc a reasonable oppo1 tunity of sho\vtng cause, cancel or ~nspend the li~ence or forfeit the \vhole or any part oi the security, if any, furnished for the due pe1for1nance of the conditions subject to which the hcence has been g1anted.
(2) Subject to any rules that may be made 1n. this behalf, the a'Jth(Jl ised officer may also 'ary or amend a licente granted under section 6.
9. l?egistralton of vessels.-( l) The owner of <.very vessel used or 1nteuded to be used for purposes of fishing and kept 1n the State, not being a fidung vessel registt red under section I 1 of th·~ Mari11c Product' Export 1Jc\~ cloplnent Authority Act, 1972 ( Ce.11tral Act 13 of 1972), shall register <:uch vessel under this Act.
(2) Every application for registration of such vessel shall be made C by the owner thereof to the aut hot 1sed o61rcr 1n such form, and shall be · accon1panied by such fees, as n1ay be pres( rtbcd-
(a) before the expiration of one month from the date on which he first became the owner of such vessel ; or
(b) before the expiration of three months fron1 the commencemc:-.1-. of this Act,
\V h Ichcvcr is later :
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• 55 Provided that the authorised ofliccr may, for sufficient redson to be , ccot ded in writing, extend the ttme-limit for regi)tration by suc'l period n~ he think~ fit.
(3) The authorised officer c;halJ issue to the O\vner of the vessel registered by him a certificate of registration 1n the pt r')cribed form and shnll enter in a register to he kept by him, in such form as may be prc'icribcd, the particulars of c;uch certificate.
( 4) Rcgistt ,1t ion once made shall continue to he in force until it is cJnccllcd by the authorised officer.
(5) Every vessel rcgtstered under this section shall carry a r~gistrahon tna rk, assigned to it by the ~uthoriscd officer, d1splaycrl in the prescribed manner.
(6) No vessel, other than a regic;tercd fishing ve.~c;el, shall be entitled to a licence under section 6 .
l 0. Jrzjorn1alton to be gtven to author,tsed office' about 1novenzent of ftshuzg vesse[t;.- Where u registered fishing vessel move~ fron1 the area of one port to the area of another port, the ov~ner of such fishi n~ vessel shclll giv(! information to that c:fl ret, in the IH es<,ribed rna nuer, to rhc authoz iscd ofJiccr by '"'hom ~ucla lishing vessel was 1 egi}tercd and also to th(: J>ort Officer havJng jut J5»dicuou uvt•r the area whereto ~uch fishing vc~<;cl h1s been moved.
I l . /lPtu1ns to be made by owner~ nf regt\fercd jBhtng Ufs~c[<;.-( 1) Every owner of a rcgis•et ed fishing vcs~t·l sh,dl furu1~h to the authorhed officer at lht~ ptescrJbed tir;le anu in thC' prc~CilhcJ Jn,lnncr ~uch return~ as Jnav bt;
1 H'<'~cri l )ed.
(2) 1·he .tul hor1scd office1 rnay inspc·ct any rcgi~tcred fishing vcs~cJ
. lt uuv t itne to verjfy 1 he accuracy of any rchn n m,1c.lc under th1s ~cction. 1 ~. lf .. znalzty of 01ders under sectzous 6, 8, and 9 -J~v(' l y dt~ct~ton of tlu; aut hori~cd officer under sect ton G, sect ton B ot· ~ectt•lu 9, gr,tntutg or 1 efu~ing to grant Jicencc fot c.~ fish1ng ve~!>el or Cc.Lilcclliug, ~u..,pcndar,g, v arytng or ,lmcndtng ~uch ltccncc or registering, 01 < clHCCJlJng tJtr: tcgt~tratron of, ,t ves,cl 11hall, ~ubjccl to any right of appeal under c;ect1on 13, be final. I :i. ,Jpflea!J agauzst orders rejusuzg grant of lzcencr, etc.-( I) Any person agg1 icvcd hy cln order of (he au thOfl'>Cd officer rcfu',• ng tO grant liC<'DCe for ,l fl,hing vessel or cancclllng, su~pending, vary1ng or amending such licence or t t ru~ing to 1 rgi~tcr a vessel or cancelling the 1 cgi~tra 1011 of such ves£el may \Vithin thi't ty <.ldys ftom tl~~ date on vvhich tlu· order is co~nn)unicatcd to him,, prcft!r an appedl to_ such authority as 1nay be prescribed (hereaft~r in this
"~ ct ~ .. ~~. n:fLrrcd to a' the appellate autl1or1ty) : .. P ~·uvh ed that the appellate authortty may .entGrtain thr appeal aftc:r , ht 'x,1iry of th(· saicl per1od of thirty day~ 1f it i~ satisfied that the appellant ''·'! pt even ted by sufficient cau~c fro n1 filing the appeal jn tirne.
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(2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-c;ectton ( 1 ), the appellate authority shall, after giVing the app~llant a teasonable opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thc1 eon as It dcen1"' fit a~ e"XpedtllOusly as pos~Jb)c. {3) Every order pas~cd by the appellate authoritY under this ~ection 0 shall be final.
CHAPTER Ill
Penalties
14. Powe1 to enter and sea1chjzshuzg vesseL. -'"fhc authori~cd officer 1nay, if he hast eason to believe that any fishing ves~el is being, or has been, used in contravention of any oft he provisions of tht~ Act 01 of any order or rule tnade thereunder or any of the conditione; of the licence, enter and search such vessel and impound ~uch vcs')el and seize any fish found •n it. L1 Dzsposal of selzed jzsh.-( J) The authod~ed officer ')hall keep the fishing vessel impounded under section 14·, 1n such place and 111 such manner as 1nay be preset ibcd. ...
(2) In the absence of suitable ft.tcdltJc~ lor llle ~to1 age of the fish seized, the author1~ed oftlce1 n1ay, if he 1s of the op1n1on that thr disposal of such ~'A fish i" necessary, di~pose of ()UCh h~h and deposit the pt occeds thereof in ~ the prescrJbcd manner in the oH1ce of the adjudicating otlicet.
16. AdjudLcatlon.-( I) \Vhet e any .lutholiS(~d o fficc1 1 efc11 ed to in sect1on 14 has reason to belirve that any hshing vessel is beu1g, or has been, used 1n contravention of an) of the p1 ovt~ions of tlus Act 01 any order or rule made the1 eunde1 or any of the condJtionC) oi the hccnc~, he ~hall make a report thereof to the adjudicatu1g officeJ .
(2) The adjudicatmg officer ~hall hold .. tn enquil y Jnto the matters mentioned in the report, in the prescribed manner, afLcr giv1ng all the parties concerned a reasonable opportuntty of being heard.
17. Penalty.-( 1) 'fhe adjudtcating officer shall, after the enquiry .lndcr:5eCtlon 16, dcc1de wheth~r any person h
(a) five thousand rupees, 1f the value of the fish mvolved 1s one 0 thousand rupees 01 lc.s~ ,
(b) hve thncs the value of the fi~h, if the value of the fish 1nvolved ts n1ore than one thousand rupees; or
{c) hve thousanclt upces, in any other case, b~u1g a ca:.e not involv1ng any fish,
as 1n~y bJ; adjudged by the adjudicating otl1ccr.
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(2) In addition to any penalty that may be hnposcd under sub-sccti0n (1), the ndjudicating ofliccr may direct that-
(a) the registration cctlificatc of the fishing vessel \vhich ha~ b,·cn used, or caused or aJiowcd to be used, in the manner referred to in subsection (1) or th<~ licence, any condition of which has bce1i contravened, shall bc-
(i) cancelled or revol(ed, as the case may be; or
(ii) suspended for such period as the adjudicating officer deems fit; or
(b) the fishing vessel or fish that may have been impounded or seized, as the case may be, under section 14 shall be forfeite
l1rovided that no fishing vessel.sha) 1 be forfeited under clause (b) if the ntlj udicating officer after hearing the owner of such vessel or any person claiming any right thereto i~ <;atisficd that the owner or such person had exercised due care for the prevention of the commission of such offence.
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(6) On receipt of an appeal under subsection (4), the Appellate Board may, after holdtng such enquiry as it deems fit an-i after giving the parties concerned a reasonable oppo1t unity of being heard, confirm, Jnodify or set as1de the order appealed against and the decision of the Appellate Bnrd shall be final, and- 0
(a) if the sum deposited bv way of penalty under subsection (5) exceeds the penalty dhected to be paid by the Appellate Board, the excess amount, or
(bJ if the Appellate Board sets aside the order Imposing penalty, 0 tl1e whole of the sum deposited by way of penalty,
shall be refunded to the appellant . .,
19. Revision by Appellate Board.-The Appellate Board may call for and examine the records of any order passed by an adju'iicating officer under section l 7 and against which no appeal has been preferred under section 18 for the purpose .. of satisfying itself a' to the legality or p} oprtety of such order or as to the regularity of the procedure and pass such order with respect thereto as it rna y think fit :
Provided that no such order shall be 1nade except after giving the person affected a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter.
20. Powers of adjudzcating officer and Appellate Board zn relatzon to holding enquzry under tins Act.-( 1) The adjudicating officer and the Appellate Board shalt, while holding an enquiry, have all the power~ of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, l 908 (Central Act 5 of 1908 ), while trying ~ a suit, in respect of the follo\ving matters, namely:-
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
summoning and enforcing the attend,tncc of witnesses ; requiring the discovery and production of any document; requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;
receiving evidence on affidavits; and
issuing commissions for the examination of witnrsses or documents.
( 2) The adjudicatin~ officer or the .A.ppellate lloard s.hall, while exe14 ci~ing any power under th1s Act, be deemed to be a C1v1l court for the purposes of scltions 345 and 346 vf the Code of CrJminaJ Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974).
21. Offences by compantes.-( l) Where an offence under th1c; Act has been committed by a company, every person \\ ho) at the t1mc the offence was comrn1tted, "'as in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company a~ "'ell as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be hable to be pro(eeded against and punished accordingly :
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Provided that nothing contained in this subsection shall render any auch person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), where any offence under this Act has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, cecretary or other officer, such director, manager, secretary or othei officer shall be deemed to be guiJty of that offence and sltall be liable.to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section,-
(a)
{b)
" company , means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals ; and
''director,, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
CHAPTER IV
Miscellaneous :l:Z. Exenlplions.-(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to survey vessels belonging to the Central Government or any State Govern· ment or nuy public undertaking.
(2) Jf the Government are of the opinion that, having regard to the purposes of this Act, it would not be in the public interest to apply all or nny of the provisions of this Act to any class rr classes of fishing vessels used for fishing 1n any specified area or specified areas, they may, by notification in the Gazette, exempt, subject to such conditions as they n1ay think fit to in1pose, such class or classes of fishing vessels used for fishing 1n such specified area or specified areas, as they may specif'f in the notifi~~ation, from the operation of all or any of the provisions o this Act.
23. l'rottclion of action taken in good faith.-( 1) No suit, prosecution or other l~gnl proceeding shall lie against the Government or any officer or authority fol' anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any order or rule tnade thereunder.
(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or any officer or authority for any damage caused or likely to be caused by anything whicb is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or nny order or rule made thereunder.
24. Pou.·1r to make rules.-(1) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, n1nke rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. 34/1150/L.
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(2) In particular, and without prejudice to,the generality of the fore· going power, such rules may provide for all or any of the follo,ving tnatters, nntnely :-
(a) the tnatters too which regard shall be had in Il!aking.tln order under subsection ( 1) of section 4 ;
(b) the for1n of the application for lic
(c) the matter~ to which regard shall be had in granting or tcfusing a licence under clause (d) of Aubsection (4) of section 6, the fees payable for the licence and the security fo1 the due perforrni3ncc of the conditions oft he licence ; / (dJ the procedure to be followed in granting or refusing a licence under scrtion 6 or cancelling, su~pending, varying or atnending such licence or in registering a vessel under section 9 or cancelling such registration ;
(e) the for1n of the application for registration of a vessel under section 9, the particu Iars which such application shall contain and the fees which shall accompany the application; 1he forn1 of the certificate of. registration and the forn1 of the register • referred to in subsecti011 (3) of that sect ion, and,thc n1anner in which the registtation mark referred to in suosection (5) of that sect ion shall be displayed ;
(f) the manner in which the information referred to in section 10 shall b c given ;
(g)
(h)
( i )
the tirne and manner in which the return! referred to in sub- section of section II sha 11 be furnished ;
the authority to whom appeals shall be preferred under sub- section ( 1) of section 13 ;
the place and the manner in which an impounded fishing vessel shall be kept under subsection (I). ot stet ion 15. and, the tnanner in which the proceeds of the disposal of the•scized fish sl)aiJ be deposited with the adjudicating officer under subsection (2J of that sectton ;
(j) the procedure· of the enquiry by 1 he adjudicating officer under
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(I) the fee~ payable for the supply of copies of documents or orders or for any other purpose or matter involving the rendering of any service by any offirer or authority under this Act;
(m) any other matter which is to be, or n1ay be, provided for by rules under this Act.
(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly, while it is in session, for a total period of fourteen days which may be compri~ed in one sess1on or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the se~sion in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative Assembly makes any tnodification in the 1 ule or decides that the rule should not be 1nadc, the 1 ule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no ellect, as the case n1ay be; so, however, that any ~uch modification or annuln1cnt shall be without prejudic~ to the validity of anything previously done under that rule .
25. llep1al and saving-( 1) The Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Ordinance, 1980 (12 of 1980), is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken undur this Act.
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