LexThe prisoners (attendance in courts) act, 1955
Rajasthan · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this actTHE PRISONERS
(ATTENDANCE IN COURTS) ACT, 1955
Contents
1. Short title, extent and commencement 6. Officer-in charge of prison when to abstain
from carrying out order
2. Definitions 7. Commissions for examination of pisoners
3. power of courts, to require appearance of
prisoners to give evidence or answer a
charge
8. Certain provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure
to apply
4. Power of State Government to exempt
certain persons from operation of Section 3
9. Power to make rules
5. Prisoners to be brought up 10. Repeal
THE PRISONERS
(ATTENDANCE IN COURTS) ACT, 1955
(Act 32 of 1955)
An Act to provide for the attendance in courts of persons confined in prison for obtaining
their evidence or for answering criminal charge.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Prisoners (Attendance in
Courts) Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, appoint.
2. Defomotopms. - In this Act -
(a) "confinement in a prison" references to confinement in a prison by whatever form of
words, include references t oconfinement or detention in a prison under any law providing
for preventive detention.
(b) "Prison"inclues :-
(i) any place which has been declared by the State Government, by general or special order,
to be subsidiary jail; and
(ii) any reformatory, Borstal insitution or other insitution of a like nature;
(c) "State Government"in relation to a Union Territory, means the Administrator there of.
1The date so appointed is 1.1.1950, see S.R.O. 3447, dated 8.11.1955 (Pub. in Gaz. of india, dated 12.11.1955,
PArt-II, Sec.3, PAge 2229)
3. Power of courts, to require appearance of prisoners to give evidence or answer a
charge.-(1) Any Civil or Criminal Court may, if it thinks that the evidence of any person confined in
any prison is material in any m atter pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the
First Schedule, directed to the Office-in-charge of the prison:
Provided that no civil court shall make an order under this sub -section in respect of a person
confined in a prison situtated outside the State in which the court is held.
(2) Any criminal court may, if a charge of anoffence against a personconfined in any prison is
made or pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the Second Schedule, directed to
the officer in charge of the prison.
(3) No order made under this Section by a civil court which is subordinate to a District Judge
shall have effect unless it is countersigned by the District Judge; and no order made under this
section by a criminal court which is i nferior to the court of the Magistrate of the first class have
effect unlessit is countersigned by the District Magistrate to whom that court is subordinate or
within the local limits of whose jurisdiction tha is situate.
(4) for the purposes of sub-section (3), a Court of Small Causes outside a presidency town or
City of Hyderabad shall be deemed to be subordinate to District Judge within the local limits of
whose jurisiction such court is situate,
4. Power of State Government to exempt certain persons f rom operation of Section 3.- (1)
The State Government may, having regard to the matters specified in sub -section (2), by general or
special order, direct that anyperson or class of persons shall not be removed from the prison in
which he or they may be confined, and thereupon so long as any to such person or class of persons.
(2) Before making an order under sub -section (1), the State Government shall have regard to the
following matters, namely:-
(a) the nature of the offence for which or the grounds on which the confinement has been
ordered in respect of the person or cas of persons;
(b) the likelihood of the disturbance of public order if the person or class of persons if
allowed to be removed to be removed from the prison.
(c) the public interst, generally.
5. Prisoners to be brought up . - Upon delivery of any order made under Section 3 to the officer -in-
charge of the prison in which the person named ther in is confined, that officer shall c ause him to be
taken to the court in which his attendance is required, so as to be present in the court at the time in
such order mentioned, an shall cause him to be detained in custody in or near the court until he has
been examined
or until the Judge or presidency officer of the court authorises him to be taken back to the prison in
which he was confined.
6. Officer-om-charge of prison when to abstain from carrying out order.- Where the person
in respect of whom an order is made under Section 3 :-
(a) is, in accordance with the rules made in this behalf, declared to be unfit to be
removed from the prison where he is confined by reason of sickness or other
infirmity, or
(b) is under committal for trial; or
(c) is under remand peding trial or pending a preliminary investigation; or
(d) is in custody for a period which would expire before the expiration or the time required
for removing him under this the officer -in-charge of the prison shall abstain from carrying out the
order and shall send to the court from which the order had been issued a statemen of reasons for so
abastaning :
Provided that such officer as aforesaid shall not so abstain where :-
(i) the order has been made by a criminal court; and
(ii) the person named in the order is confined under committal frotrial or under remand
pending trial or pending a preliminary investigation and is not decleared in
accordance with the rules made in this behalf to be unfit to be removed from the
prison where he is confined by reason of sickness or other infirmity; and
(iii) the place, where the evidence of the person named in the order is required, is not
more than five miles distant from the prison in which he is confined.
7. Commissions for examination of prisoners. - In any of the following cases that is to say,-
(a) Where it appears to any civil court that the evidence of a person confined in a prison
is material in any matter pending before it and tha the attendance of such person in
court connot be secured by reason of the provisions of Section 6 or of an order
under Section 4 of the District Judge declining under su -section (3) of Section 3 to
countersing an order for removal; or
(b) Where it appears to any civil court as aforesaid that the evidence of a person
confined in a prison which is situated outside the State in which, or is more than fifty
miles distant from the place at which, such court is held is material in any such
matter; the court may, if it thinks fit, issue a commission under the provisions of the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for the examination of the personin the prison in
which he is confined.
1
1Now See Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)
8. Certain provisions of the Code fo Cr iminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure to
apply . - Save as otherwise provided in this Act and any rules made there under, the provisions of
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Code of Criminal procedure, 1898 as the case may be,
shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to the examination on commi ssion or otherwise of any
person confined in a prison as they apply in relation to the examnation on commission of any other
person.
9. Power to make rules. - (1) The State Government may, by notification in the official
Gazette, make rules for carrying out the pursposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and with out prejudice to th egenerality of the foregoing power, such rules
may provide for-
(a) The proceudre for obtaining the countersignature of an order made under Section 3,
(b) the authority by whom and the manner in which a declaration that a person confined in
prison is unfit to be removed there from, may be made;
(c) the conditions, including payment of costs and charges, subject to which an order made
under Section 3 by a Civil Court may be executed:
(d) the manner in which a process directed against any person confined in a prison issued
from any court may be served upon him;
(e) the escort of persons confined in a prison to and from Courts in which their attendance is
required and for their custody during the period of such attendace;
(f) the amount tobe allowed for the costs and charges of such escort; and
(g) the guidance of officers in all other matters accounted with the enforcement of this Act.
10. Repeal. - (1) Part IX of the prisoners Act, 1900 and the first and Second Schedules to the
said Act are hereby repealed.
(2) If immediately before the commencement of this Act, ther e is inforce in any Part-B State
to which this Act extends any law corresponding to the provisions of this Act, that law shall, in so far
as it relates to matter dealt with in this Act, stand repealed on such commencement:
Provided that anything done or a ny action taken under any such law shall be deemed to
have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act and shal countinue to have
effect accourdingly, unless and until superseded by anything done or any action taken under this
Act.
1
1 Now See Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)