1. Short title, extent and commencement.
3. Prohibition of possession of wireless telegraphy
apparatus without licence.
4. Power of Central Government to exempt persons from
provisions of the Act.
8. Apparatus confiscated or having no owner to be
property of Central Government.
10. Power of Central Government to make rules.
11. Saving of Indian Telegraphy Act, 1885.
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An Act to regulate the possession of
wireless telegraphy apparatus.
Whereas
it is expedient to regulate the possession of wireless telegraphy apparatus in
India; It is hereby enacted as follows: —
1. Short
title, extent and commencement. — (1)
This Act may be called the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933.
(2) It extends to the whole of
India.
(3) It shall come into force on
such date as the Central Government, may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, appoint.
2.
Definitions. — In this Act, unless
there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, —
(1) “Wireless communication” means any transmission, emission or
reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds, or intelligence of any
nature by means of electricity, magnetism, or Radio waves or Hertzian waves,
without the use of wires or other continues electrical conductors between the
transmitting and the receiving apparatus.
Explanation. — “Radio
waves” or “Hertzian waves” means
electromagnetic waves of frequencies lower than 3,000 gigacycles per second
propagated in space without artificial
guide;
(2) “Wireless telegraphy apparatus“ means any apparatus, appliance,
instrument or material used or capable of use in wireless communication, and
includes any article determined by rule made under Section 10 to be wireless
telegraphy apparatus, but does not include any such apparatus, appliance,
instrument or material commonly used for other electrical purposes, unless it
has been specially designed or adapted for wireless communication or forms so designed or adapted, nor any
article determined by rule made under Section 10 not to be wireless telegraphy
apparatus;
(2-A) “Wireless transmitter“ means any apparatus, appliance, instrument or
material used or capable of use for transmission or emission of wireless
communication;
(3) “prescribed“ means prescribed by rules made under Section 10.
3.
Prohibition of possession of wireless telegraphy apparatus without licence. — Save as
provided by Section 4, no person shall possess wireless telegraphy apparatus except under and in accordance
with a licence issued under this Act.
4. Power
of Central Government to exempt persons from provisions of the Act. — The Central
Government may by rules made under this Act exempt any person or any class of
persons from the provisions of this Act either generally or subject to
prescribed conditions, or in respect of specified wireless telegraphy
apparatus.
5.
Licences. — The telegraphy
authority constituted under Indian Telegraphy Act, 1885 (13 of 1885) shall be
the authority competent to issue licences to possess wireless telegraphy
apparatus under this Act, and may issue licences in such manner, on such
conditions and subject to such payments as may be prescribed.
6. Offence
and penalty. — (1) Whoever
possesses any wireless telegraphy apparatus, other than a wireless transmitter,
in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 shall be punished, in the case
of the first offence, with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees, and, in
the case of a second or subsequent offence, with fine which may extend to two
hundred any fifty rupees.
(1-A) Whoever possesses any
wireless transmitter in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 shall be
punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
(2) For the purposes of this
section a Court may presume that a person possesses wireless telegraphy
apparatus if such apparatus is under his ostensible charge, or is located in
any premises or place over which he has effective control.
(3) If in the trial of an
offence under this section the accused is convicted, the Court shall decide
whether any apparatus in respect of which an offence has been committed should
be confiscated, and if it so decides, may order confiscation accordingly.
7. Power
of search. — Any officer specially
empowered by the Central Government in this behalf may search any building,
vessel or place in which he has reason to believe that any wireless telegraphy
apparatus, in respect of which an offence punishable under Section 6 has been
committed, is kept or concealed, and take possession thereof.
8.
Apparatus confiscated or having no owner to be property of Central Government.
— All wireless telegraphy
apparatus confiscated under the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 6, and
all wireless telegraphy apparatus having no ostensible owner shall be the
property of the Central Government.
10. Power
of Central Government to make rules. — (1) The Central Government may, by notification in the official
Gazette, make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of
this Act.
(2) In particular and without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for
—
(i) determining that any article
or class of article shall be or shall not be wireless telegraphy apparatus for
the purposes of this Act;
(ii) the exemption of persons or
classes of persons under Section 4 from the provisions of this Act;
(iii) the manner of and the
conditions governing the issue, renewal, suspension and cancellation of
licences, the form of licences and the
payments to be made for the issue and renewal of licences;
(iv) the maintenance of records
containing details of the acquisition and disposal by sale or otherwise of
wireless telegraphy apparatus possessed by dealers in wireless telegraphy
apparatus;
(v) the conditions governing the
sale of wireless telegraphy apparatus by dealers in and manufacturers of such
apparatus.
(3) In making a rule under this
section the Central Government may direct that a breach of it shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees.
(4) Every rule made under this
section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each House of
Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may
be comprised in one session or [1][in two or more successive sessions, and if, before
the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive
sessions aforesaid] both Houses agree in making any modification n the rule or
both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be;
so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice
to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
11.
Saving of Indian Telegraphy Act, 1885. — Nothing in this Act contained shall authorise the doing of anything
prohibited under the Indian Telegraphy Act, 1885, and no licence issued under
this Act shall authorise any person to do anything for the doing of which a
licence or permission under the Indian Telegraphy Act, 1885, is necessary.
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