Prisoners (Attendance In Courts) Act, 1955
No: 32 Dated: Nov, 12 1955
The Prisoners (Attendance In Courts) Act, 1955
Act No. 32 of 1955
An Act to provide for the attendance in Courts of persons confined in prisons for obtaining their evidence or for answering a 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
2. Definitions .In this Act
(a) confinement in a prisonreferences to confinement in a prison, by whatever form of words, include references to confinement or detention in a prison under any law providing for preventive detention;
(b) prison includes
(i) any place which has been declared by the State Government, by general or special order, to be a subsidiary jail; and
(ii) any reformatory, Borstal institution or other institution of a like nature;
(c) State Government in relation to a Union territory, means the Administrator thereof.
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 matter pending before it, make an order in the form set forth in the First Schedule, directed to the officer 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 situated outside the State in which the Court is held.
(2) Any Criminal Court may, if a charge of an offence against a person confined 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 inferior to the Court of a Magistrate of the first class shall have effect unless it is countersigned by the District Magistrate to whom that Court is subordinate or within the local limits of whose jurisdiction that Court is situate.
(4) For the purposes of sub-section (3), a Court of small causes outside a Presidency town or the city of Hyderabad shall be deemed to be subordinate to the District Judge within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such Court is situate.