The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989

The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
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GOVERNMENT OF GUJARAT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gujarat Act No. 9 of 1989 
 
 
 
 
 
The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of 
Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
 
 
 
 
 
(As modified up to the 31st December, 2005) 
 
 
 
 
The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
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THE GUJARAT PROHIBITION OF MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE 
ARMED FORCE ACT, 1989. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
PREAMBLE. 
 
SECTIONS.        PAGE No. 
 
1. Short title, commencement and application. 
 
2. Definitions. 
 
3. Prohibition against keeping and maintenance of private armed force. 
 
4. Employment by a landholder of persons who are armed. 
 
5. Restriction on employment by landholder. 
 
6. Penalty for contravention of section 3 or 5. 
 
7. Offences to be cognizable. 
 
8. Power of State Government, to make rules. 
 
9. Repeal and savings. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
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GUJARAT ACT NO. 9 OF 19891  
 
[ THE GUJARAT PROHIBITION OF MAINTENANCE OF PRIVATE ARMED 
FORCE ACT, 1989.] 
[ 8th March, 1989. ] 
 
AN ACT to regulate in the interest of public order the keeping and mainten -
ance of private armed force for the protection of land or crop in the State of Gujarat. 
 
It is hereby enacted in the Fortieth Year of the Republic of India as follows :- 
 
1. (1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Prohibition o f Maintenance of Private 
Armed Force Act, 1989. 
 
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 21st December, 1988. 
 
(3) It shall apply in the first instance to areas within the jurisdiction of a gram 
panchayat and a nagar panchayat, but the State Government may, by 
notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to such 
other areas in the State and with effect from such date as may be specified in 
the notification. 
 
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- 
 
 (a) "gram panchayat" and "nagar panchayat" means a gram panchayat and a 
nagar panchayat established under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1961; 
 
(b) "land" means land which is used for agricultural purpose or which is so 
used but is  left fallow, and includes the site of farm buildings apertenant to 
such land; 
 
(c) "landholder" means a person who is the holder of land or is in terested in 
land and includes, in relation to any land within the jurisdiction of a gram 
panchayat or a nagar panchayat, such panchayat; 
 
(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under section 8; 
 
(e) "private armed force" means a force consisting of one or more persons 
who are armed for the whole or part time and maintained by, or subject to the 
control of, a person other than the Union or the State Government, but does 
not include a person employed as a helper or sathi or an agricultural labourer 
who is not armed. 
 
Explanation.-A person shall be deemed to be armed if he has in his 
possession an article of  any description designed or adapted as a weapon of 
offence or defence, not being an article commonly used for domestic or agri -
cultural purposes, such as a lathi, a sickle, an axe or a Dharia. 
 
3. No landholder shall, either himself or through any other person, keep and maintain 
any private armed force for protection of land or crop or otherwise. 
 
 
4. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 3 but subject to the provisions of 
section 5, a landholder may employ for the purpose of protection of his land or crop 
not more than two persons who are armed : 
 
Provided that where a gram panchayat or a nagar panchayat is satisfied that 
having regard to the extent of land or crop within its jurisdiction employment of more 
than two persons who are armed is necessary, the panchayat may employ more than 
two such persons but not more than such number of such persons as may be 
prescribed. 
Short title, 
commencement and 
application. 
Definitions. 
Guj. VI of 1862. 
Prohibition against 
keeping and 
maintenance of 
private armed force. 
Employment by a 
land-holder of 
persons who are 
armed. 
The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
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5. (1) A landholder, after employing a person under section 4 and a person after 
accepting such employment shall, furnish such information, within such time 
and in such manner, as may be prescribed, to the officer in charge  of the 
police station having jurisdiction over the area in which the land held by the 
landholder, or in which the landholder is interested, is situate. 
 
(2) Where on receipt of the information furnished under sub -section (1), the 
officer in charge of the police station, after making such inquiry, as he deems 
fit, is of the opinion that such person is not fit to be so employed, the officer 
in charge of the police station shall inform the landholder accordingly. 
 
(3) Where a landholder is informed by the off icer-in-charge of the police 
station under sub -section (2) that the person employed by such landholder is 
not fit to be so employed, the landholder shall, within fifteen days after he is 
so informed, terminate employment of such person as a member of his a rmed 
force : 
 
Provided that the landholder may not terminate the employment of 
such person if such person executes within the aforesaid period of fifteen 
days a bond with the landholder as surety, for such amount as may be 
prescribed for his good behaviour during the period of his employment. 
 
6. (1) Whoever being a landholder contravenes the provisions of section 3 or 5 
shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may 
extend to six months or with fine or with both. 
 
(2) Whoever being a landholder or being a person employed by a land -holder 
under section 4, without reasonable cause or excuse, fails to furnish 
information required of him under section 5, or wilfully furnishes or causes to 
be furnished any information which he knows to be false, shall on conviction, 
be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months 
or with fine, or with both. 
 
7. An offence against sections 3 and 5 shall be cognizable. 
 
8. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make 
rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 
 
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,  
power, such rules may provide for all and any of the following matters 
namely :- 
 
(a) the number of persons under the proviso to section 4, 
 
(b) the information to be furnished and the time within which and the 
manner in which such information shall be fu rnished under sub -
section (1) of section 5, 
 
(c) the amount of the bond to be executed and of the surety to be 
furnished under proviso to sub-section (3) of section 5, 
 
(d) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed by rules. 
 
(3) The power to make rules conferred by this section shall be subject to the 
condition of the rules being made after previous publication. 
 
(4) All rules made under this section shall be laid for not less than thirty days 
before the State Legislature as soon as possible a fter they are made, and shall 
be subject to rescission by the State Legislature or to such modifi cation as the 
State Lagislature may make during the session in which they are so laid, or 
the session immediately following. 
Restriction on 
employment by 
land holder. 
Penalty for 
contravention of 
section 3 or 5. 
Offences to be 
cognizable. 
Power of State 
Government to 
make rules. 
The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force Act, 1989. 
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(5) Any rescission or modificati on so made by the State Legislature shall be 
published in the Official Gazette and shall thereupon take effect. 
 
9. (1) The Gujarat Prohibition of Maintenance of Private Armed Force 
Ordinance, 1988 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 under this Act. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, See Gujarat Government Gazette, Extraordinary, Part V, dated 
the 21st January, 1989, p. 7-4. 
 This Act was assented to by the Governor on the 7th March, 1989. 
Guj. Ord. 10 of 
1988. 
Repeal and savings. 

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