Bihar Prevention of Beggary Act, 1951
No: 1 Dated: Jan, 23 1952
Bihar Prevention of Beggary Act, 1951
Bihar Act 1 of 1952
An Act to check begging and reclaim children accompanying beggars and make them useful citizens;
Whereas it is expedient to check begging are reclaim children accompanying beggars and make them useful citizens;
It is hereby enacted as follows: -
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Bihar Prevention of Beggary Act, 1951.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Bihar.
(3) It shall come into force in such areas and no such date or dates as the State Government may, by notification, from time to time, appoint and the State Government may in like manner withdraw or rescind such notification.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context. -
(a) "begging" means -
(i) soliciting alms in a public place or in or about a temple, mosque or other place of public worship, whether or not under any pretence such as singing, dancing, fortune-telling, performing tricks or selling articles;
(ii) entering on any private premises for the purpose of soliciting alms;
(iii) exposing or exhibiting, with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease whether of a human being or an animal;
(iv) having no visible means of subsistence and wandering about or remaining in any public place or in a temple, mosque or other place of public worship in such condition or manner as makes it likely that the person doing so exists by soliciting alms;
(v) allowing himself to be used as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting alms, but does not include soliciting money or food or gifts for a purpose authorised by any law or authorised in the prescribed manner by the District Magistrate or by the State Government:
Provided that the State Government may, by general or special order, direct that 'begging" shall not include soliciting alms in or about any temple or mosque or any other place under such terms and conditions and on such occasions as may be specified in the order;
(b) "Certified Home" means a home certified by the State Government or by any subordinate authority empowered by it in this behalf to be a fit place for the reception of beggars suffering from leprosy or any other infections or contagious disease notified in this behalf by the State Government;
(c) "Court" means the court of a Magistrate of the first class;
(d) "Fund" means the Prevention of Beggary Fund established under subsection (1) of Section 11 in respect of any local area to which this Act applies;
(e) "Juvenile Court" means a Court empowered by or under Section 8 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897;
(f) "police officer" means a police officer not below the rank of an assistant sub-inspector of police;
(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by Rules made under this Act;
(h) "public place" means any highway, public park or garden or any railway station or railway train and any public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, and includes any open space to which for the time being the public have or are permitted to have an access, whether on payment or otherwise;
(i) "Reformatory school" means a school established and maintained by the State Government under the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897;
(j) "Special Home" means a home notified by the State Government, as suitable for the reception of beggars, not physically capable of ordinary manual labour, but not suffering from leprosy or any other infectious or contagious disease and children below the age of ten years who are committed to a Special Home under any of the provisions of this Act; and
(k) "Work House" means a place notified by the State Government as suitable for the receiption of beggars, physically capable of ordinary manual labour, who are committed to a Work House under any of the provisions of this Act.
3. Begging an offence under this Act. - If any person is found begging within an area to which this Act applies, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
4. Power to require persons found begging to appear before Court. - (1) Any police officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the District Magistrate may arrest without a warrant any person who is found begging:
Provided that no person entering on any private premises for the purpose of soliciting alms shall be so arrested or shall be liable to any proceedings under this Act except upon a complaint of the occupier of the premises.
The provisions of Section 61 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, [1898], shall apply to every arrest under this section, and the officer-in-charge of the police-station shall cause the arrested person to be kept in prescribed manner until he can be brought before a Court.
5. Summary inquiry in respect of persons found begging and their Detention. - (1) Where a person is brought before the Court under Section 4, the Court shall make a summary inquiry in the prescribed manner as regards the allegation that he was found begging.
(2) If the inquiry referred to in sub-section (1) cannot be completed forthwith, the Court may adjourn it from time to time and order the person to be remanded to such place and custody as may be convenient.
(3) If, on making the inquiry referred to sub-section (1), the Court is not satisfied that the person was found begging, it shall order that such person be released forthwith.
(4) If, on making the inquiry referred to in sub-section (1) the Court is satisfied that such person was found begging, it shall record a declaration that the person is a beggar. The Court shall also determine after making an inquiry in the manner prescribed whether the person was born in the State of Bihar and ordinarily resides therein and shall include the findings in the declaration. The Court shall make further order as is in this section hereinafter provided.
(5) The Court shall order the person declared as beggar under sub-section (4) to be detained in a Work House, Special Home or, as the case may be, in a Certified Home in accordance with the provision of Section 7 for a period of not less than one and not more than three years:
Provided that if the Court is satisfied the circumstances of the case that the person declared under sub-section (4) is not likely to beg again, it may release the beggar after due admonition on a bond for the beggar's abstaining from begging and being of good behaviour being executed with or without sureties, as the Court may require, by the beggar or any other person whom the Court considers suitable.
(6) Notwithstanding anything in this section, when the person declared as beggar under sub-section (4) is a child not below the age of five years, the Court shall, instead of making any order under sub-section (5), submit the proceedings and forward the child to a Juvenile Court which may make such further inquiry (if any) as it may think fit and pass such sentence or order for the detention of the child in a Reformatory School or otherwise, as it might have passed if the child had been originally tried by it under Section 8 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897. For the purpose of this sub-section, the Court may, if necessary, cause the beggar to be examined by a medical officer.