Insertion of new section in Central Act 9 of 1894

In the Prisons Act, 1894, in its application to the State of Punjab, after section 52, the following section shall be inserted, namely:- "52-A

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, if any prisoner is found guilty of possessing, operating or using a mobile phone or their component parts like SIM card, memory card, Battery or Charger or if the prisoner or any other person assists or abets or instigates in the supply thereof, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, not exceeding one year or with fine, not exceeding rupees twenty five thousand or with both; and if the mobile phone is used for committing an offence inside or outside the jail's premises by a prisoner, the imprisonment shall not be less than one year, which may extend to three years or with fine, not exceeding rupees forty thousand or with both. In case of non-payment of fine, the imprisonment may be further extended upto one year.
2. (2) The offence committed under sub-section (1), shall be cognizable and shall be triable by the court of the Magistrate First Class.".