The Cattle-Trespass (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1931

This Act may be called the Cattle-trespass (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1931.

In the proviso to section 14 of the 2Cattle-trespass Act, 1871, for the words "Magistrate of the District" the words "officer authorised to sell them by public auction" shall be substituted.

In section 1 of the Cattle-trespass Act, 1871, in its application to the State I of of Bombay (hereinafter referred to as the "principal Act"), to sub-section

1. (2) the 1871. following proviso shall be added, namely:— " Provided that on the commencement of the Cattle-trespass (Bombay Bom. Extension and Amendment) Act, 1959, it shall extend to those areas in which the XIII of Hyderabad Cattle Trespass Act, or as the case may be the Cattle-trespass Act, 1959. 1871, as modified and applied to the Saurashtra area of the State of Bombay Hyd. Act V of 1337F was in force immediately before such commencement."

In the principal Act, in section 10, after the words and figures "the Bom- bay Village Panchayats Act, 1933," the words "or any corresponding law in force in any part of the State of Bombay" shall be inserted.

In the principal Act, after section 12, the following new sections shall be inserted, namely:—

Security in respect of impounded cattle. "12A.

1. (1) In any local area to which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply this section, every pound-keeper shall, before releasing any impounded cattle, require the owner of the impounded cattle or his agent to make, in the form to be prescribed by the State Government, a declaration regarding the ownership of such cattle and to deposit by way of security such sum as the State Government may, by rules, prescribe. Different scales may be prescribed for different areas or different classes of cattle.
2. (2) If any cattle belonging to such owner are impounded within a period of six months from the date on which the security is deposited, and if the seizure is not adjudged illegal, the amount of deposit or a part thereof, as may be directed by the State Government by rules made in this behalf, shall stand forfeited to the State Government. If cattle are not impounded as aforesaid, the amount of security deposit shall, on an application made by or on behalf of the depositor, be refunded to him on the expiry of that period.
3. (3) On every occasion on which the release of the cattle impounded under this Act is claimed, the owner of the cattle shall deposit a fresh security.

1. (1) If in any local area to which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply this section, a Mamlatdar, Tahsildar, Naib-Tahsildar or Mahalkari is satisfied—
   • (i) that the grazing land set apart for the use of cattle of one or more villages in the taluka, tahsil or mahal under his jurisdiction is insufficient for the cattle belonging to the permanent residents of such village or villages; or
   • (ii) that the crops or grass standing on any agricultural land or grazing land so set apart are likely to be damaged by cattle belonging to persons who are not residents of such village or villages and who own more than twenty head of cattle, he may—
   • (a) in any case referred to in clause
     • (i) direct any such resident owner, by special or general order, to remove or cause to be removed all or any dry or useless cattle belonging to him to such place or places within the State and within such period as may be specified in the order, and
   • (b) in any case referred to in clause
     • (ii) direct any such non-resident owner, by special or general order, to remove or cause to be removed all or any of his cattle to such place or places within the State and within such period as may be specified in the order.
2. (2) If the owner of the cattle fails to remove the cattle as directed under sub-section (1), the Mamlatdar, Tahsildar, Naib-Tahsildar or Mahalkari, as the case may be, may direct a police officer not below the rank of a head constable to remove or cause to be removed such cattle to the place or places specified in the order.
3. (3) If the Mamlatdar, Tahsildar, Naib-Tahsildar or Mahalkari is satisfied that the order issued by him under sub-section
4. (1) is contravened by any owner or keeper of cattle, he may impose a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees. Any fine so imposed may, on failure of such owner or keeper to pay the same within the specified time, be recovered by sale of all or any of the cattle ordered to be removed under sub-section (1)." 6. Amendment of section 13 of Act I of In the principal Act, to the first paragraph of section 13, the following shall be added, namely:— "and on depositing the amount of security prescribed under section 12A." 7. Amendment of section 15 of Act I of In the principal Act, section 15 shall be renumbered as sub-section
5. (1) of that section, and after sub-section
6. (1) as so renumbered, the following new sub-section shall be inserted, namely:— "(2) If on any complaint referred to in sub-section
7. (1) the seizure is declared to be lawful, or if the owner or his agent fails to make such complaint within a period of four weeks from the date of delivery of the cattle to him, the pound-keeper shall require such owner or agent to make a declaration and to deposit the amount of security as required by section 12A. If the owner or his agent fails to make such declaration or to deposit such amount, the cattle delivered to him under sub-section
8. (1) shall be seized again for the purposes of section 16." 8. Amendment of section 16 of Act I of In section 16 of the principal Act, for the first and second paragraphs the following new paragraphs shall be substituted, namely:— "If the owner or his agent appears and refuses or omits to pay the said fines and expenses and to deposit the said amount of security or (in the case mentioned in section 15) to deposit the said fines, expenses and amount of security or to make a declaration as required by section 12A, the cattle or as many of them as may be necessary, shall be sold by public auction by such officer, at such place and time, and subject to such conditions, as are referred to in section 14, or disposed of in accordance with the provisions therein. The fines leviable and the expenses of feeding and watering together with the expenses of sale, if any, and the amount of security prescribed under section 12A shall be deducted from the proceeds of the sale." 9. Amendment of section 17 of Act I of In section 17 of the principal Act, after the second paragraph, the following new paragraph shall be inserted, namely :— "The amount of security required under section 12A shall be deposited with the pound-keeper." 10. Substitution of new section 29 for existing section 29 of Act I of In the principal Act, for the existing section 29, the following new section shall be substituted, namely :—

Nothing herein contained prohibits any person whose property, crops or other produce of land have been damaged or to whom any hurt or injury or obstruction has been caused by trespass of cattle from suing for compensation in any competent court.".

11. Insertion of new section 32 after section 31 of Act I of After section 31 of the principal Act, the following new section shall be inserted, namely :—

1. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) In particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, such rules may provide for the following matters, namely :—
   • (i) the form of, and the procedure relating to, the declaration, and the scales of deposits to be made, under section 12A;
   • (ii) the procedure regulating the making of security deposits, custody and refund thereof;
   • (iii) the manner in which any cattle may be disposed of;
   • (iv) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.
3. (3) The power to make rules under this section shall be subject to the condition of previous publication in the Official Gazette.
4. (4) All rules made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Legislature as soon as may be after they are made, and shall be subject to such modifications as the State Legislature may make during the session in which they are so laid, or the session immediately following." 12. Repeal and saving The Cattle-trespass Act, 1871 [of 1871], as modified and applied to the Saurashtra area of the State of Bombay by the State of Saurashtra (Application of Bombay Acts) Ordinance, 1948 [Sau. Ord. XXV of 1948], and the Hyderabad Cattle Trespass Act [Hyd. Act V 1337F.], are hereby repealed : Provided that such repeal shall not affect—
   • (a) the previous operation of any law so repealed, or anything duly done or suffered thereunder ;
   • (b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under any law so repealed ;
   • (c) any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against any law so repealed ;
   • (d) any investigation, legal proceedings or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid ; and any such investigation, legal proceedings or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced and any such penalty, forfeiture and punishment may be imposed, as if this Act had not been passed : Provided further that, subject to the preceding proviso, anything done or action taken (including any rules made, notifications, orders or notices issued, pounds established, rates of charges for feeding impounded cattle and scales of fine fixed, appointments, deposits and complaints made and penalties imposed) under any law shall in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of the principal Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of the principal Act and shall continue in force accordingly unless and until superseded by anything done or any action taken under the principal Act. First Schedule. First Schedule [See section 2 (a)]. 1. The Cattle-trespass (Central Provinces and Berar Amendment) Act, 1935 (C. P. and Berar Act XII of 1935). 2. The Cattle-trespass (Central Provinces and Berar Amendment) Act, 1937 (C. P. and Berar Act XXII of 1937). 3. The Central Provinces and Berar Cattle-trespass (Amendment) Act, 1949 (C. P. and Berar Act XXVII of 1949). Second Schedule. Second Schedule [See section 2 (b)]. 1. The Cattle-trespass (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1931 (Bom. V of 1931). 2. The Cattle-trespass and Bombay District Police (Amendment) Act, 1950 (Bom. XXXIV of 1950) (except section 3).