Updated: Sunday May 24, 2015/AlAhad Sha'ban 06, 1436/Ravivara Jyaistha 03, 1937, at 04:16:21 PM

The Sarais Act, 1867

1ACT No. XXII OF 1867

[15th March, 1867]

 

An Act for the regulation of public Sarais and Puraos.

Preamble. WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the regulation of public Sarais and Puraos : It is hereby enacted as follows :­

 

1.      Interpretation-clause.___ [Repeal of Bengal Regulation XIV of 1807, section 11, clause 5.] Rep. by the Amending Act, 1891 (XII of 1891).

2.      “Sarai”. In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,­–

 

“sarai” means any building used for the shelter and accommo­dation of travellers, and includes, in any case in which only part of a building is used as a sarai, the part so used of such building. It also includes a purao so far as the provisions of this Act are applicable thereto.

“Keeper of a sarai” . “keeper of a sarai” includes the owner and any person having or acting in the care or management thereof:

“Magistrate of the District.”–– 2“Magistrate of the District” means the chief officer charged with the executive administration of a district in criminal matters whatever may be his designation:

 

 3*                 *                    *                       *                       *                       *             *       

 

3. Notice of this Act to be given to keepers of sarais. Within six months after this Act shall come into operation, the Magistrate of the District in which any sarai to which this Act shall apply may be situate shall, and from time to time thereafter such Magistrate may, give to the keeper of every such sarai notice in writing of this Act, by leaving such notice for the keeper at the sarai; and shall by such notice require the keeper to register the sarai as by this Act provided.

 

1For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Gazette of India, 1867, p.194 and for Proceedings in Council relating to the Bill, see ibid., Supplement pp. 62, 72, 158, 225 and 232.

The Act has been applied to Phulera in the Excluded Area of Upper Tana­wal to the extent the Act is applicable in the N.W.F.P., subject to certain mo­difications, and extended to the Excluded Area of Upper Tanawal (N..W.F.P.) other than Phulera with effect from such date and subject to such modifications as may be notified. see N.W.F.P. (Upper Tanawal) (Excluded Area) Laws Regulation, 1950.

The Act has been applied to Baluchistan by the Baluchistan Laws Re­gulation. 1913 (II of 1913), s. 3.

It has been extended to the Leased Areas of Baluchistan, see the Leased Areas (Laws) Order, 1950 (G.G.O. 3 of 1950); and applied in the Federated Areas of Baluchistan, see Gaz. of India, 1937, Pt. I, p. 1499.

 

2This reference should now be read as “District Magistrate”, see para. 2 of section 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act 5 of 1898).

 

3The words  “Words in the singular include the plural, and vice versa”, rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1914 (10 of 1914), and the definition of “L.G.” by A. O., 1937.

 

Such notice may be in the form in the Schedule to this Act annexed or to the like effect.

 4. Registers of sarais to be kept. The Magistrate of the District shall keep a register in which shall be entered by such Magistrate or such other person as he shall appoint in this behalf, the names and residences of the keep­ers of all sarais within his jurisdiction, and the situation of every such sarai.

No charge shall be made for making any such entry.

5. Lodgers, etc.,not to be received in sarais until registered. After one month after the giving of such notice to register as by this Act provided, the keeper of any sarais or any other person shall not receive any lodger or allow any person, cattle, sheep, ele­phant, camel or other animal, or any vehicle, to halt or be placed in such sarais until the same and the name and residence of the keeper thereof shall have been registered as by this Act provided.

6. Magistrate may refuse to register keeper not producing certificate of character. The Magistrate of the District may, if he shall think fit, refuse to register as the keeper of a sarai a person who does not pro­duce a certificate of character in such form and signed by such per­son as the l[Provincial Government] shall from time to time direct.

7. Duties of keepers of sarais. The keeper of a sarai shall be bound__­

(1)        when any person in such sarai is ill of any infectious or contagious disease, or dies of such disease, to give im­mediate notice thereof to the nearest police-station:

(2)        at all times when required by any Magistrate or any other person duly, authorized by the Magistrate of the District in this behalf, to give him free access to the sarai and allow him to inspect the same or any part thereof:

(3)        to thoroughly cleanse the rooms and verandahs, and drains of the sarai, and the wells, tanks, or other sources from which water is obtained for the persons or animals using it, to the satisfaction of, and so often as shall be required by, the Magistrate of the District, or such person as he shall appoint in this behalf :

(4)        to remove all noxious vegetation on or near the sarai, and all trees and branches of trees capable of affording to thieves means of entering or leaving the sarai :

(5)        to keep the gates, walls, fences, roofs and drains of the sarai in repair:

(6)        to provide such number of watchmen as may, in the opinion of the Magistrate of the District, subject to such rules as the l[Provincial Government] may pres­cribe in this behalf, be necessary for the safety and protection of persons and animals or vehicles lodging in, halting at or placed in the sarai: and

 

ISubs. by A. O., 1937. for. “L.G.”.

(7)        to exhibit a list of charges for the use of the sarai at such place and in such form and languages as the Magistrate of the District shall from time to time direct.

 

8. Power to order reports from keepers of sarais. The keeper of a sarai shall from time to time, if required so to do by an order of the Magistrate of the District served upon him, report, either orally or in writing as may be directed by the Magistrate to such Magistrate or to such person as the Magistrate shall appoint, every person who resorted to such sarai during the preceding day or night.

 

If written reports are required for any space of time exceeding a single day or night, schedules shall be furnished by the Magis­trate of the District to the keeper.

 

The keeper shall from time to time fill up the said schedules with the information so required, and transmit them to the said Magistrate, in such manner and at such intervals as may from time to time be ordered by him.

 

9. Power to shut up, secure, clear and clean deserted sarais. If any sarai by reason of abandonment or of disputed ow­nership shall remain untenanted, and thereby become a resort of idle and disorderly persons, or become in a filthy or unwholesome state, or be complained of by any two or more of the neighbours as a nuisance, the Magistrate of the District, after due enquiry, may cause notice in writing to be given to the owner or to the per­son claiming to be the owner, if he be known and resident within the district, and may also cause such notice to be put on some cons­picuous part of the sarai, requiring the persons concerned therein, whoever they may be, to secure, enclose, clean or clear the same;

and if such requisition shall not be complied with within eight days, the Magistrate of the District may cause the necessary work to be executed, and all expenses thereby incurred shall be paid by the owner of the sarai, and shall be recoverable like penal­ties under this Act, or, in case of abandonment or disputed owner­ship of the sarai, by the sale of any material found therein.

10. Taking down of repairing ruinous saris. If a sarai or any part thereof be deemed by the Magis­trate of the District to be in a ruinous state, or likely to fall, or in any way dangerous to the persons or animals lodging in or halting at the sarai, he shall give notice in writing to the keeper of the sarai requiring him forthwith to take down, repair or secure (as the case may be) the sarai or such part thereof as the case may require.

If the keeper do not begin to take down, repair or secure the sarai, or such part as aforesaid within three days after such notice, and complete such work with due diligence, the Magistrate shall cause all or so much of the sarai as he shall think necessary to be taken down, repaired or otherwise secured.

All the expenses so incurred by the Magistrate shall be paid by the keeper of the sarai, and shall be recoverable from him as  hereinafter mentioned.

11. Sale of materials of ruinous sarais. If any such sarai or any part thereof be taken down by virtue of the powers aforesaid, the Magistrate of the District may

sell the materials thereof, or so much of the same as shall be taken down under the provisions of the last preceding section, and apply the proceeds of such sale in payment of the expenses incurred, and shall restore the over-plus (if any) arising from such sale to the owner of such sarai on demand, and may recover the deficiency (if any) as if the amount thereof were a penalty under this Act.

12. Penalty of any permitting sarais to be filthy or overgrown. Whoever, being the keeper of any sarai, suffers the same to be in a filthy and unwholesome state, or overgrown with vegeta­tion, or after the expiration of two days from the time of his receiv­ing notice in writing from the Magistrate of the District to cleanse or clear the same, or after he shall have been convicted of suffering the same to be in such a state or so overgrown as aforesaid, shall allow the same to continue in such state, or so overgrown, shall be liable to the penalties provided in section 14 of this Act:

Proviso. Provided that the Magistrate of the District may, in lieu of enforcing such daily penalty, enter on and cleanse or clear the said sarai, and the expense incurred by the Magistrate in respect there of shall be paid to him by the keeper, and shall be recoverable as by this Act provided in the case of penalties.

13. Power for Provincial Government to make regulations. The l[Provincial Government] may from time to time make regulations for the better attainment of the objects of this Act, provided that such rules be not inconsistent with this Act or with any other law for the time being in force, and may from time to time repeal, alter and add to the same.

All regulations made under this Act and all repeals thereof, and alterations and additions thereto, shall be published in the 2[official Gazette].

14. Penalty for infringing Act or regulations. If the keeper of a sarai offend against any of the provisoins of this Act or any of the regulations made in pursuance of this Act, he shall for every such offence be liable on conviction before any Magistrate to a penalty not exceeding twenty rupees, and to a further penalty not exceeding one rupee a day for every day during which the offence continues:

Provided always that this Act shall not exempt any person from any penalty or other liability to which he may be subject, irrespective of this Act.

All penalties imposed under this Act may be recovered in the same manner as Fines may be recovered under 3section 61 of the of Code of Criminal Procedure (Act V of 1898).

 15. Conviction for third offence to disqualify persons from keeping sarais. Where a keeper of a sarai is convicted of a third offence under this Act, he shall not afterwards act as keeper of a sarai without the license in writing of the Magistrate of the District, who may either withhold such license or grant the same on such terms and conditions as he may think fit.

 

1 Subs. by A.O., 1937, for “L. G.”.

2 Subs. Ibid.,, for “local official Gazette”.

3 See now sections 386, 387 and 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act 5 of 1898).

 

16. Nothing in Act to apply to certain sarai. No part of this Act, except section 8, shall apply to any  sarai which may be under the direct management of the 1 [Provincial Government] or of  any Municipal Committee.

 

17.  Power to Provincial Government to extend this Act. [Extent of Act.] Omitted by A. O., 1949, Sch.

 

2*It shall be lawful for the l[Provincial Government] by notification in the 3[official Gazette], to 4extend this Act, mutatis mutandis to any 5[part of the territories under its Government] 6* * *.          

 

18.    Short title. This Act may be called the Sarais Act, 1867.

 

 

_____________

 

SCHEDULE

 

FORM OF NOTICE

 

 

Take notice that on the         day of       1867, an Act called the Sarais Act, 1867 was passed, and that before the day of              18    , you being keeper of a sarai [or purao] within [here state that the district over which the jurisdiction of the Magistrtate giving the notice extends], must have your sarai  [or purao]  registered and that the register is to be kept at [here state where the register is to be kept] and that, if you do not have your sarai [or purao] so registered, you will be liable to a penality not exceeding twenty rupees, and to a further penality not exceeding one rupee a day for every day during which the offence continues, and that on your applying to [here give the name and address of the person to keep the register] he will register your sarai [or purao] free of all charge to you.

 

 

Dated the     day      of         18        .

 

1Subs. by A.O., 1937, for “L. G.”.

 

2The word “But” omitted by A. O., 1949, Sch.

 

3Subs. by A.O., 1937, for “Local Gazette”.

 

4It has been extended to the Punjab, see Notification No. 4499, dated 13th December, 1879, in Punjab Government Gazette, 1879, Pt. I, p. 727, but its application to that part of the Hazara District, known as Upper Tanawal, which then formed part of the Punjab, is barred by the Hazara (Upper Tanawal) Regulation, 1900 (2 of 1900).

 It has been extended, mutatis mutandis to the whole of the Province of West Pakistan with effect from the 12th day of October, 1959, see West Pakistan Gazette, 1959, Pt. I, p. 797.

 

5Subs. by A.O., 1949, Sch., for “other part of British India, except the towns of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay”.

 

6The words “and the Settlement of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore and Malacca” rep. by the Amending Act, 1891 (12 of 1891)

 

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