Chapter V VIOLATION, OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

Registration of drilling agencies.

1. (1) Whoever in contravention of this act or of any rule, notification or order made, issued or given thereunder, or of any license or permit granted under this act -
   • (a) constructs any new tubewell/ dug well etc. ; or
   • (b) extracts, sell or supply of raw unprocessed untreated ground water ; or
   • (c) supplies ground water in any tanker, vessel, etc. ; or
   • (d) Obstructs the appropriate body or any other person authorized by the State Government or State Ground Water Management and Regulatory Authority to exercise any of the powers conferred under this Act; or
   • (e) neglects the security arrangement for any old, incomplete, abandoned or unusefull well owned by him, in such a way that it may cause death/injury to any person or animal ; shall subject to the provisions of subsection (2), be punishable for every such offence with imprisonment for a term not less than three months which may extend to one Year years and fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to Ten thousand rupees: Provided that when any person is convicted under this section of any offence for a second or subsequent time, he shall be punishable for every such offence with imprisonment for a term not less than six month but which may extend to One year and with fine which shall not be less than Ten thousand rupees but which may extend to fifteen thousand rupees.
2. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), if the offences described in clause (a), clause (b), clause
   • (c) or clause
   • (d) is committed by any commercial user, industrial user, infrastructural user or any bulk user, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six month but which may extend to two years and with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but may extend to twenty five thousand rupees: Provided that when any person is convicted under this Section for an offence for second or subsequent time, he shall be punishable for every such offence with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees but may extend to fifty thousand rupees.
3. (3) When an offence covered by sub section
4. (1) or sub section
5. (2) proved to be committed for second or subsequent time the permission / license issued for ground water abstraction may be cancelled with immediate effect.
6. (4) When there is reason to believe that any offence under this Act has been committed, officer not below the rank of Assistant Engineer or any other officer authorised under this act by the state government in this behalf may, seize such machine, equipment, tool, vehicle, vessel or any other articles used in committing such offence under the provisions of this Act.
7. (5) Any officer seizing any property under this section shall place on all such properly a mark indicating that the same has been so seized and shall, as soon as may be, produce a report of seizer of the property before the Executive Engineer of the Water Resources Department; (6)
   • (i) When any seizure report is produced before the Executive Engineer during any inquiry and before filing of complaint to the court, the executive Engineer may make such order as he thinks fit for the proper custody of such property pending the conclusion of the inquiry or trial. however if in the opinion of the Executive Engineer that the order for the interim custody of such property is not appropriate, he may refer the report, before the Collector to order the confiscation of such property;
   • (ii) If the Executive Engineer or any other officer authorised to do so has produced a written complaint before the magistrate, in such case for disposal of property the provisions of Chapter-XXXIV of the criminal procedure code, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974) shall be applicable.

Cognizance of offences.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)—

1. (a) every offence under this Act shall be non-cognizable and bailable;
2. (b) no court shall take cognizance of any offence committed under this act without a written complaint by the Executive Engineer, Water Resources Department or any other officer authorised to do so by notification issued by State Government from time to time;
3. (c) when any offence is found to be committed under section 19, the Executive Engineer of the Water Resources Department shall issue a notice to the accused to be present before the Executive Engineer and compound for the offence so committed within 30 days from the notice. If the accused have not present for compounding procedure then written complaint may be made by the Executive Engineer within one month of the date on which notice has been served; Provided that the cognizance of a complaint may be taken by the Court after the prescribed period, if the complainant satisfies the Court that he had sufficient cause for not making a complaint within such period.
4. (d) no court inferior to that of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.

1. (1) An offence punishable under this Act may be compounded on the application of the accused before or after the institution of the prosecution. It will be done by an officer not below the rank of Executive Engineer or such officer as notified by the State Government from time to time; when an application for compounding is so received by the officer authorised to do compounding may after imposing a compounding fee and depositing it in government interest, which shall not be less than Rs 20,000/- but may not exceed Rs 10 Lakhs and 50% of the maximum fine prescribed with the water tax and other cess etc. as applicable on the quantity.
2. (2) Every officer referred to in sub section
3. (1) of Section 21 shall exercise the powers to compound an offence subject to the direction, control and supervision of the Appropriate Body.
4. (3) Every application for the compounding of an offence shall be made in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed.
5. (4) Where any offence is compounded before the institution of any prosecution, no prosecution shall be instituted in relation to such offence, against the offender in relation to whom the offence is so compounded.
6. (5) Where the compounding of any offence is made after the institution of any prosecution, such compounding shall be brought by the officer referred to in sub-section
7. (1) in writing to the notice of the Court in which prosecution is pending and on such notice of the compounding of the offence being given, the person against whom the offence is so compounded shall be discharged or acquitted.

1. (1) Whenever an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, every person, who at the time of the commission of offence was in-charge of or was responsible to the company for the conduct of the business of the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence.
2. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed with the consent or connivance of or is attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence.

The District Collector shall act as District Ground Water Grievance Redressal Officer.