Chapter III OFFENCES, PUNISHMENT AND PROCEDURE

Penalties.-

1. (1) Any person who-
   • (a) damages a mulberry tree whether on State or private land ;
   • (b) uses wood, branches or leaves of a mulberry tree otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder ;
   • (c) plucks, cuts or removes leaves or branches of a mulberry tree or otherwise causes injury to such tree ;
   • (d) sells, purchases, receives or retains in his possession mulberry wood in any form otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder ; shall be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees in addition to such compensation for the damage done to the mulberry tree or wood as the convicting Court may direct to be paid and for a second or subsequent offence with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
2. (2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any act done by permission in writing of an officer of the Sericulture Department in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of any rule made thereunder.
3. (3) Nothing herein contained shall prevent any person from being prosecuted under any other law for any offence punishable under this Act :

Summary trial of offences Summary trial of offences.- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Criminal Procedure Code, all offences under this Act or rules made thereunder shall be triable summarily.

Abetment.- Whoever abets the commission of an offence punishable under this Act shall be liable to the same punishment as is provided for that offence in this Act.

Complaint by an officer of the Sericulture Department.- No Court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act unless complaint is made by an officer of the Sericulture Department not lower in rank than that of an Inspector.

Power to compound offences.-

1. (1) The Government may, from time to time by notification in the Government Gazette, empower an officer of the Sericulture Department by name or as holding an office to accept from any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed any offence under this Act, other than an offence specified in section 6, a sum of money by way of compensation for the offence which such person is suspected to have committed.
2. (2) On the payment of such sum of money to such officer, no further proceedings shall be taken against such person and with respect to the seized property, if any, such officer shall pass orders in writing as he may deem proper in the circumstances of each case.

Power of search and seizure.-

1. (1) Any Revenue Officer of the rank of Naib-Tehsildar and above and any officer of the Sericulture Department of the rank of Inspector and above, having reasonable grounds to believe that mulberry wood is, in contravention of the provisions of this Act, in the possession of a person in any place, may enter such place with the object of carrying out a search for the contraband wood and its confiscation: Provided that such search shall not be conducted otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
2. (2) The circumstance necessitating the search and the result of the search shall be reported at once by the officer conducting such search to the nearest Magistrate.
3. (3) Mulberry wood found as being held in contravention of the provisions of this Act shall, pending the decision of the case by competent authority, be left on Supardnama duly witnessed with the chowkidar, lambardar, zaildar or any other respectable resident of the locality.

Powers of making investigation.- The Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, confer on any officer of the Sericulture Department not below the rank of an Inspector, all the powers of an officer-in-charge police station under Chapter XIV of the Criminal Procedure Code, to make an investigation in a cognizable case.