Purpose for which places may not be used without licence

(1) The council may, by a notification and by beat of drum, direct that no place within municipal limits shall be used for any one or more of the purposes specified in Schedule III without the licence of the Commissioner and except in accordance with the conditions specified therein and where the licence is for keeping hotels, restaurants, eating-houses, coffee houses, laundries or running barber saloons the licence issued by the Commissioner shall always contain and be deemed to contain a condition that admission or service therein shall be available to any member of the public: Provided that no such notification shall take effect until sixty days from the date of publication.

1. (2) The owner or occupier of every such place shall within thirty days of the publication of such notification apply to the Commissioner for a licence for the use of such place for such purpose.
2. (3) (a) On receipt of any such application, the Commissioner may, subject to the provisions of clauses (b) and (c), grant the licence specifying therein such conditions as he may think fit to impose in accordance with the rules, if any, made by the Government in this behalf or refuse to grant such licence. The section came into force on the 12th day of September, 1974 vide Extraordinary Gazette No. 122 dated 12th September, 1974.
   • (b) Before granting or refusing a licence under clause (a), the Commissioner shall cause a full and complete investigation to be made in the prescribed manner in respect of the application and shall have due regard to: -
     • (i) the suitability of the place in respect of which the licence is applied for;
     • (ii) the possibility of any danger to life or health or property or the likelihood of any nuisance being created either from the nature or by reason of the manner in which or the conditions under which the place is proposed to be used;
     • (iii) the provisions of other Acts, if any, and the rules and byelaws made thereunder, regulating the use of places for the purposes for which a licence is applied for under this Act; and
     • (iv) such other matters as may be prescribed.
   • (c) If the Commissioner is satisfied either on a reference made to him in this behalf or otherwise that --
     • (i) a licence granted under clause (a) has been obtained by misrepresentation as to an essential fact, or
     • (ii) the holder of a licence has, without reasonable cause, failed to comply with the conditions subject to which the licence has been granted or has contravened any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, then, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the licence may be liable under this Act, the Commissioner may, after giving the holder of the licence an opportunity of showing cause, revoke or suspend the licence.
   • (d) Subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf by the Government, the Commissioner may also vary or amend a licence granted under clause (a).
3. (4) Every such licence shall expire at the end of the year unless for special reasons the Commissioner considers it should expire at an earlier date, when it shall expire at such earlier date as may be specified therein.
4. (5) Applications for renewal of such licences shall be made not less than thirty and not more than ninety days before the end of every year and applications for licences for places to be newly opened shall be made not less than thirty and not more than ninety days before they are opened.