The Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980

(1) This Act may be called the Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980. (2) It extends to the whole of India 1***. (3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 15th day of October, 1979.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "appropriate Government" means, as respects a detention order made by the CentralGovernment or by an officer of the Central Government or a person detained under such order, theCentral Government, and as respects a detention order made by a State Government or by an officerof a State Government or as respects a person detained under such order, the State Government; (b) "detention order" means an order made under section 3; (c) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof.

(1) The Central Government or a StateGovernment or any officer of the Central Government, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to thatGovernment specially empowered for the purposes of this section by that Government, or any officer of aState Government, not below the rank of a Secretary to that Government specially empowered for thepurposes of this section by that Government, may, if satisfied, with respect to any person that with a viewto preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of commoditiesessential to the community it is necessary so to do, make an order directing that such person be detained. Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of commodities essential to the community" means-- (a) committing or instigating any person to commit any offence punishable under the EssentialCommodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955), or under any other law for the time being in force relating tothe control of the production, supply or distribution of, or trade and commerce in, any commodityessential to the community; or (b) dealing in any commodity-- (i) which is an essential commodity as defined in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of1955), or (ii) with respect to which provisions have been made in any such other law as is referred to inclause (a), with a view to making gain in any manner which may directly or indirectly defeat or tend to defeat the provisions of that Act or other law aforesaid. (2) Any of the following officers, namely:-- (a) district magistrates; (b) Commissioners of Police, wherever they have been appointed, may also, if satisfied as provided in sub-section (1), exercise the powers conferred by the said sub-section. (3) When any order is made under this section by an officer mentioned in sub-section (2), he shall forthwith report the fact to the State Government to which he is subordinate together with the grounds onwhich the order has been made and such other particulars as in his opinion have a bearing on the matter,and no such order shall remain in force for more than twelve days after the making thereof unless in themeantime it has been approved by the State Government: Provided that where under section 8 the grounds of detention are communicated by the authoritymaking the order after five days but not later than ten days from the date of detention, this sub-sectionshall apply subject to the modification that for the words "twelve days", the words "fifteen days" shall besubstituted. (4) When any order is made or approved by the State Government under this section or when any order is made under this section by an officer of the State Government not below the rank of Secretary to that Government specially empowered under sub-section (1), the State Government shall, within seven days, report the fact to the Central Government together with the grounds on which the order has beenmade and such other particulars as, in the opinion of the State Government, have a bearing on the necessity for the order.

A detention order may be executed at any place in India in themanner provided for the execution of warrants of arrest under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of1974).

Every person in respect of whom adetention order has been made shall be liable-- (a) to be detained in such place and under such conditions, including conditions as tomaintenance, discipline and punishment for breaches of discipline, as the appropriate Governmentmay, by general or special order, specify; and (b) to be removed from one place of detention to another place of detention, whether within thesame State or in another State, by order of the appropriate Government: Provided that no order shall be made by a State Government under clause (b) for the removal of aperson from one State to another State except with the consent of the Government of that other State.