The Odisha Offices of Village Police (Abolition) Act, 1964

'[THE ORISSA OFFICES OF VILLAGE POLICE (ABOLITION) ACT, 19641 IRecei-ved the assen1 of 111c Go~lel-~lor O I I the 28th March 1964, filmst published in arl extra- ordhary issrre of the Crjssa Gazette, &led the 28th Mrrr.c11 19641 AN ACT TO ABOLISH THE OFFICES OF VILLAGE POLICE IN THE STATE OF ORISSA BE i t enacted by thc Legislature of the State of Orissa in the Fifteenth Year of the Republic of India, as folIows : - 1. ( I ) This Act may be called the Orissa Ofices Shorlrirlc. of Village Police (Abolition) Act, 1964. cxtcnt and comwencc- (2) It shall extend t o the whole of the State of mcnt. 0rissa.- (3) It shall come into force at once 2. 3n this Act unless the context 0 ther~vise Dclinition requires- (a) "appointed date" in relation to any Village Police means such date as the Stdte Government may appoint ' i n that behalf and different dates may be so appointed in respect of difierent Village Police in d,ifferent areas ; 1 . For SlaIemcnt o i Objvcb and Reasons scc Or;ssn Gn:crrc, Extra- ordinary, daled ~ h c 251h Fcbruary 1964 (No. 352). 2. Came into lorcc \V. C. f- (i) Tbo3st April 1965 in rospecl' of all Village Policc in thc (a) Nayngarh subdivision in thc dislricl or Puri, (1)) Nilgiri subdivision in 1 hedistrict of Halasorc, (c) At hgarh subdivision in lhc district or Cullack.vidc nolitication No..2472-P.. datcd ihc 24th January 1965, published in 1 hc Orirsa Garetfe, darcd thc 12th Fcbruary 1 ~ 5 , PI. nr, P. 132 ; {jl)-Thc:Ist May 1965 in rcspect orall Village Police in thc district of Kalahandi, vidc nutifiation NU, 4175-P., dalcd-rbc 17th Fcbruary 1965, published in thc Orissl~ G[izcftlle, daicd 111c 261h February I965, Pr. ILI, P. 218 ; (Ili) Thc I st July 1865 in rcspccl or all Village Police in villngcs, namely: Aranga, Niladriprasad, Nirapalli and T~rndalii in Banpur Tahasil undcr Kliurda subdivision in Lhc dislrict of Puri, vide notification No. 17265.P., dalcd thc 19th Junc 1965, publislicd i n lhe Otisra Cowlfe, datcd tlic 2nd July 1965, P- 741 ; ( iv ) The 1st Dcccrnbcr 1965 in rcspci of all v i l logt Police in the arco Khondnial subdivision in Ihc dislrict or phulbani, vidc nolifim- tion No. ?755ap.-p2~-19/64, datcd I ~ I C 5111 ~ovcmbpr 1965, publisl~cd 10 111c Urissn Gn:rrrc, da ~ c d t l~c 12th Novcrnbcr 1965, Pt. IE, P. 1199. THE ORISSA OFFICES or: \TILLAGE [Or. Act 3 (6) "Colle~l(~~." iricludcs ni-iy ofliccr 11ot being helow the !an k or an Additionnl Disirict Magislrntc appoinicd by the Stalc Govzrn- merit lo pe~rornl all or any of the ful~cljons of s Collectol. under this Act ; (c) "emolumcn t" i n relnlinn to any Villago Police Oficc-I. meails salary, payment in caslz or in kind or in both, commission, use or enjoyment of lands Ileld and a11 kinds of privileges and benefits in respect of or ancexed to such office in lieu of remuneration for the performance of the duty appertaining thereto ; (d) ''Grarna Sasan" means [he Grama ' Sasan co~lstit~~tcd 1111der ale provisions of the .,, Orissa Graina Panchayots Act, 1938 ; ' 15 or 1964 (e) "Jaagir lands" ir? relatioil to any oace of ViIlagc Police means lands by atever narne described or locally known, whetl~er or not recorded as such in thc settIenlent papers, held as emolument in respect of such office ; (fl "prescribed" meam prescribed by rules made by the Stat? Government under this Act ; (g) "Village Police" means a Chaukidar, Maha- nayak, Dafadac, J hankar or KaIounder any system of Viltage PoIice administration and includes all ViIIage Police Officers of such designation as the State Government may, from time to time notify. or 3. (1) Nalwithstanding anything in any other law cmccs or ~ i l l a g c ~ o l i c c or i n any rule, order, custom, usage or practice having the force of law or in any contract, s a ~ ~ a d or grant or in any juclgmcnt, decree or order of n Court, with effect from and on lhc appointed daie- (a) all offices of Viilage Police shalI be deemed i to have becn abolislled ; -. 71 \.I(\ ( b ) the rights of the nslld~rs of the said omces to receive any emolument sl~all be deemed to have been terminated ; (c) all rights to hold officc and any Iiability to render service appertaining to such office , . shaII stand extinguished ; a11 r i~hts , privileges and obligations of any person holding the ofice of a ViIIage Police in respect of the exercise, perfor- mance or discharge of a1 l powers, func- tions and duties of any kind whatsoever attached to such office or in relation thereto shall stand extinguished ; and (e) all Jagir lands shall stand resumed and vested absoluteIy in the State Government freu from all encum hrances: provided that any person being a Jhankar or Kaio who, in accordance wit11 any local law, custom, usape or practice, was irnmedately before thc appoint- ed -date discharging dutics of n Villaga Priest attached to the office of such Jhanknr 01. Kale, shall continue to hold fifty pcrn c e l ~ t u n l of the Jagir lands, if any, Tor so long as he continues to discharge the said duties. (2) Where ViiIage Police Officers with emolu- ments consisting of cash remuneration only have been served with notices from the District Magistrate in any area plirporting to tertnin.;te the services of such oEcers and providi~ig for col~fermcnt of benefits specified in sub-sectioii (6) or section 4, the provisions of this Act shall have effect iu relation to offices of suc l~ Village Police as fully and effectively as if this Act with rnodificntions speciiied in sub-section (3) had been i n force at all rnaterial times and the said noti- ces had becn issued under this Act. (3) The inod ifications I-cferred to in su-bsection (2) shall be the following, namely:- (a) "appointed date" shall be read and construed- (i) for purposes of sub-section ( I ) and sec- tlons 4, 6 and 1 I as the first day of August 1963; and - 52 THE ORISSA OFFICES OF VILLAGE [Or. Act 3 (ii) for purposes of section, 5 as the date 01 which rules are made in: relation to matters covered by subsection (1) of the said section; (b) benefits conferl-ed under sub-section (6) of section 4 shaII be read and construed as the benefits specified in the said notices. sortlcrncnt or 4. ( I ) Ali Jagir lands resumcd under the provi- landsand sions:of this Act shall, subject to the provisions of solarium s-ub-section 2), be settled wi th rights of occupancy I therein on a air and equitable rent to be determined in the prescribed manner, with the Village Police Offi- cer or with him and all those other pcrsons, if any, who may be holding the land or a-ny part thereof: as his co-sharers 01 as tenants in pursuance of any Ioccll custom, usage or practice under him or under such co-sharer to the extent that each such person was in separate and actual cuItivating possession of, the. same immediately before the appointed date. (2) The totaI area of such land in possession ofy each such person shall be subject to a reservation. of a certain fraction thereof in favour of the Grama- Sasan-within whose limits the land is situate and tba extent of such reservation shaIl be determined 'in the. following,manner, namely :- I : . ' . '- Land,in possession Extent" 'OF reservatios . , .. , Less than: 10 acres , . . . Nil 1.0 acres or abovc but less than, 5.per ceqt 33 acres. 33'acies or abovc but less than 10 perxent 100 acres. . 100 acres * r above but less than 20 per cent ' ' 200,aores. 200 acres and above . . 30 per cent (3) The rent detcrmincd under subsect ion ( I ) ball be payable wit11 effcct from the appointed date and the rent for the pcriod, prior, to such determination shall be recoverable withi4 thrw years therefrom. (4) All* persons entitled. t o the settlement of Jagir; lands under sub-section ( -1) . shall, in the. prescribed. manner and within the- prescribed period, file claims before t h e prescribed: authority and on- failure of fjIing such clai 111- the person - concerneda shall be debarrcd from claiming any right under this section. . . (5):Any person with ivhom land's are settled . . . , , under sub-section ( I ) shall on payment of such fees as may be prescribed,. be entitled to a Phtta containing the prescribed particulars. (6) Where the emclurnent in relation to any Village Police Oacer, consists on Jy-of' remuneration in cash, such officer shall, as soon as may be a f w the appointed date, be entitled t o be paid a s s o ~ a i i u r ~ ~ a sum equivalent to the total emolument for the period of twclve months immediately prece- ding thc said date and to the settlement' of one acre of cuItivable land with rights of occupancy' therein, on. a fair and equitabIe rent to be determined in the firescribed manner : - '[Piovided t h a t in cases where any Village Police Oficcr h a s already been scttled with onc acrc of cullivable land wirh rights of occupancy therein; prior to the appointed date solely in - c~nsidcr,a;ntionl GC-thc impending abolition of his office, the settle- ment so made shall, for a1 I, purposes; be decmcd to be settlenlent of land made under. l his sub-section. ] 5. ( I ) It shail be the duty of every Village Poiice Submissip~l Ollicer i n the prescribed manner to dcl I ver allirccords:of rmds maintained by him i n , respect ofi his office; (2) Wl~oever fails to comply with the provisions of sub-section (1) within thirty days from the appointed date or such further period as the Collector may alIow; shall be punishable on convictf on. with- fine which hay. extend to two hundrcd' rupees and 'in the case of continuing failure with an additional- fine which may extend to ten rupees for every day during which such-failure continues after the convi~t io~z for t,he first such failure. I. Inscrlcd by thc Orissa Oficcs of Village Police (~boIil!on> (Arpondmcnt) ~ c t , 1967 (Or. Act 23 of I967), s, 2. THE ORISSA OFFICES OF VILLAGE [Or. Act 3 (3) The ColIcctor may for the purpose of recovering the records specified in sub-section ( I ) issue a search warrant and exercise all such powers with respect thereto as may be lawfuIly exercised by a Magistrate under Chapter VII of the Code of50rrsss CriminaI Procedure, 1 898. Selllament t o be rroe 6. No premium shall be charged for the settle- ofpromiurn. ment of lands under section 4 and the rent, if any, assessed and in force immediately before the appoint- ed datc shall in the absence of any proof to the contrary be deemed to be the fair and equiiable rent. Procedure LO bt 7. The State Government may, by rules made in toIlowed in that behalf, specify either generally or in relation to prwcedinss- any particular area the time within which, the autho- rities by whom and the manner in which proceedings in respect of mattcrs under section 4 including matters preliminary, incidental or ancillary thcreto shall be commenced, heard and disposed of. Appcal and revision and 8. (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in bar or this Act any person aggrieved by any ordcr passed jurisdiction undcrthis Act ortherulesmade tl~eceunder by a n y of Civil courts. Officer below the rank of a Collcctor, may prefcr an appeal within thirty days from the date of the order before the Collect or. (2) Any person aggrieved by any order passed by the Collector under this Act or the rules made thereunder may, witbin thirty days from the date of the order, file an application for revision before the Board of Revenue, who may, after calling for the records and giving the ~ a r t i e s an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders confirming,. modifying or reversing the order in question accordng as the Board deems proper. (3) Subject to the provisions of the receding subsections a11 orders passed under this Act shall be final. (4) No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to cnlertain any suit or proceeding so far as it relates to any matter which any oficer or oti~el- competent authority is empowered by or under this Act to decide. 9. (1 ) The Collector, Board of Rcvcnoc and t h c ~ ~ t h ~ f i t i ~ other au~horitics ;~rescl-ibocl in accorda~lce with Lo cx~rc isc ccrtain seclion 7 shaII, for tllc purposes of chis Act hrcvc lhc powcrso~ 5 of 1908 sanlc powcrs as are vested in a Court under thc C i v i l C o ~ r t - Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 when trying a suit in respect of-. (0) sum~noning and enforcing Ihe altendance of witnesses ancI cxarnining Iher!~ on oath; (b) requiring the discovel-y and production of documents; (c) receiving evidence o n af5davit ; and ( d ) suc!z other matters as may be prescrj bed. (2) A11 enquiries and proceedings under t h i s Act shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings witbill the 45 or 1860 meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code. 10. ( 1 ) The Statc Government may make rules* Power to to carry out the purpases of this Act. makt rub (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such ruIcs may provide for- (a) the procedir1.e to be folIowed by the Collector, tbe Board of Revenue and other authorities while proceeding under any of the provisions of this Act; and (b ) all other matters which under the provi- sions of this Act arc required to be or may be prescribed. (3) All rules made under this Act shall, as soon as may be after they are made, be laid before the State Legislature for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one or more sessions and shall be subject to such modifications as the State Legislature may make du ring the said period. 11. With effect from the appointed date the Effocr on provisions of any othcr law or rule, regulation or,,,,,,,, order having the for= of law shall, in so far as they in6 laws, relate to any Village Police, stand repealed and any , - mFor (ha r ~ l e ~ xcc ~ Z ~ $ t i o n NO. 46663-Legis. (L-R)21164-R., dated Iho 29th July 1964, publishcdlo O r i x ~ G~zel tc , Extraordinnry. dated the 3111 Jmll I964 1 No. 1195 1. 56 THE ORISSA OFFICES OF VILLAGE POLICE (ABOLITION) ACT, 1964 [Or. Act 3 of 19643 (Secs. 22- 13) custom, usage, practice, contract, sanand or grant shall, . in so far as the same is r~pugnant to the provis~ons of this Act, stand an~lullecl. 12. If any doubt or difficulty arises i n giving Powcr to ,,,,,, effect to the provisions of this Act tlzc State Govern- daubisand ment may, as occasion may requirc, by order, do dificultics. anything not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or the rules ~nade thercunder, which appears to them necessary for purposes of rcnloving thc d oubl or difficulty. Rcpeal and 13. ( 1 ) The Orissa Offices of Village Police ,is3B savings (Abolition) Ordinance, 1963 is hereby repealed. Ordinance No. 2 of (2) Notwithstanding such repeal anything done, 19G3- any action taken, any ~~u le s or orders made or any notice or notification issued in exercise of any power canferred by or under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done, taken, made or issucd ja exercise of the owers conferred by or under this Act, asjf this 1 ct had cornnlenced on the 2nd day of Decembor 1963.